Department for Transport

Driving: Diabetes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has made of the potential merits of the use of flash glucose monitoring and real time continuous glucose monitoring for drivers with diabetes.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency plans to review its guidance on driving and diabetes on account of recent technological advances in glucose monitoring.

Jesse Norman: Advice as to the use of flash glucose monitoring systems in the context of driving falls to the Secretary of State for Transport’s Honorary Medical Advisory Panel on Driving and Diabetes Mellitus to advise upon. The panel has recently considered the use of such technology and has advised that these systems have the potential to be used to monitor glucose levels for driving. Following the Panel’s review, this matter will be the subject of a targeted consultation with key stakeholders over the summer.

Driving: Diabetes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of diabetes-related (a) road collisions and (b) road deaths there were in (i) the UK and (ii) each of the devolved nations for the most recent year for which that information is available.

Jesse Norman: We do not hold information on diabetes-related road accidents. The data on personal injury road accidents includes contributory factors which the police select when they attend the scene. These do not assign blame for the accident but give an indication of factors which the attending officer thought contributed to the accident, and are not broken down to record particular types of medical condition.

Southern: Timetables

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made on whether Office of Rail Regulation guidance on work patterns is being followed in relation to driver work patterns under the new timetable on Southern routes; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: The Office of Rail and Road is the independent safety regulator of the rail industry. Employers in the rail industry must ensure that appropriate legislation is adhered to. It is not the responsibility of the Department for Transport to make this kind of assessment.

Cycling: Ethnic Groups

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of cycling uptake among ethnic minority groups; and what steps he is taking to encourage an increase in that uptake among those groups.

Jesse Norman: On the 18 January 2018 the Department for Transport published Walking and Cycling Statistics for England which contain figures on the proportion of adults that cycle, by ethnicity, frequency and purpose for England between 2015-2016 (see pp14-15). The full report can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/674503/walking-and-cycling-statistics-england-2016.pdf This Government wants to make cycling and walking the natural choices for shorter journeys, or as part of a longer journey, for everyone. The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, published in April 2017, aims to increase cycling and walking activity, including among under-represented groups. It also commits the Government to monitoring the extent to which people from different age groups, genders and ethnic backgrounds are taking up cycling and walking.

Driving: Licensing

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to ensure that healthcare professionals and opticians are required to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency DVLA of a person being medically unfit to drive.

Jesse Norman: Healthcare professionals, doctors and opticians already play an important role in the driver licensing process. They advise their patients of the implications of their condition on driving and the effect of any treatment or medication and they advise when a patient should notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). The DVLA will often correspond with a patient’s doctor, consultant or optician as part of its medical investigations to determine fitness to drive. To support medical professionals, the DVLA publishes advice entitled “Assessing fitness to drive: a guide for medical professionals”. There are no plans to compel healthcare professionals to notify the DVLA directly about a patient’s medical condition. However, healthcare professionals can and do notify the DVLA where they are concerned about a patient’s driving fitness. General Medical Council guidance states that while they must make every reasonable effort to persuade patients to inform the DVLA, doctors can notify the DVLA of a patient’s medical condition, in confidence, if the patient does not do so. Similar guidance is available to opticians. To assist the medical profession, the DVLA has a specific form that can be used for this purpose and provides a dedicated telephone line which allows doctors to discuss concerns directly with one of the DVLA’s doctors. The DVLA treats notifications received from doctors and opticians as a high priority.

Taxis: Licensing

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of granting additional powers to local authorities to carry out taxi and private hire enforcement activities in response to taxi and private hire drivers and operators (a) engaging in cross border hiring and (b) operating in their local area under a licence issued by a different local authority.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: At a Westminster Hall Debate last year, the Rt Hon John Hayes MP announced the formation of a Task and Finish group to consider any regulatory issues and remedies. The Group’s remit includes the current powers of licensing authorities, their application and effectiveness. Issues that may arise from taxi or private hire vehicle drivers working predominantly or exclusively out of the area in which they are licensed have been considered as part of its deliberation. The group is expected to submit its report shortly.

Aviation: Training

Sir Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support the provision of pilot training in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: I refer my Honourable Friend to the answer given to the Hon Member for Southend West (Sir David Amess MP) on 12 June 2018, UIN 149564 (https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=149564).

Driving: Licensing

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average length of time is for a person to have their driving licence returned after it was revoked as a result of ill health.

Jesse Norman: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) deals with around 750,000 medical cases each year and aims to complete 90% within 90 working days. The length of time taken to deal with an application following a driving licence being revoked depends on the medical condition involved and whether further information is needed from medical professionals. In the last financial year, it took an average of 32 working days for the DVLA to make a licensing decision on all medical applications. This is a reduction from 37 days in the previous financial year.

Govia Thameslink Railway

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his oral contribution of 4 June 2018, Official Report, Column 51, on what date the Thameslink industry readiness board was established; who sits on that board; who funds that board; what the cost to the public purse of the operation of that board has been for the last twelve months; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: The Thameslink Industry Readiness Board first met on 13 January 2017 and is independently chaired by Chris Gibb. Chris Gibb is the independent Chair and its members are directors from Network Rail, Govia Thameslink Railway, Southeastern, Stagecoach Group (Representing East Midlands Trains and Virgin Trains East Coast), Arriva Rail London, Department for Transport, Office of Rail and Road, Siemens (supplier of the new Thameslink Fleet), and an Independent Assurance Panel representative. The cost of the board is part of the £7bn Thameslink programme.

Govia Thameslink Railway

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his oral contribution of 4 June 2018, Official Report, column 56, if he will make it his policy to establish a public service operator to carry out his duties as Operator of Last Resort in the event of a GTR franchise termination; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: As my Rt Hon Friend said in his statement to the House on 4 June it is vital to get back to stability as quickly as possible and investigate what went wrong. We do not wish to pre-empt the findings of those investigations which was commissioned or act in haste. Once the enquiries have concluded we will take the most appropriate decision and use the full power of the franchise agreement and legislation if needed.

Govia Thameslink Railway

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his oral contribution of 4 June 2018, Official Report, column 51, on what date GTR personally assured him that it was ready to implement the timetable changes; and whether he requested information or data from GTR to evidence that assurance.

Joseph Johnson: The Secretary of State was reassured by senior GTR figures in early May 2018 that they were confident they would be able to implement the new train service. However, it became clear at the 11th hour that GTR were unable to deliver all planned services. We are in regular discussions with Network Rail and GTR. I have reiterated that the disruption suffered by passengers is wholly unacceptable, and the priority is to give passengers greater certainty over which services will run.

Cycling and Walking: Finance

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to assist local authorities with funding infrastructure improvements as part of Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans.

Jesse Norman: The Department is currently providing technical and strategic support to local authorities to enable them to develop Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs). These plans will help identify and prioritise potential infrastructure improvements. The Department will consider options for supporting infrastructure improvements identified through the LCWIP process as and when future funding opportunities arise.

A282: Accidents

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vehicle accidents on the A282 were registered by Highways England between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016.

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vehicle accidents on the A282 were registered by Highways England between 1 September 2016 and 31 August 2017.

Jesse Norman: There have been 487 vehicle accidents on the A282 recorded on Highways England’s incident management system between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016.There have been 477 vehicle accidents on the A282 recorded on Highways England’s incident management system between 1 September 2016 and 31 August 2017.

Channel Tunnel Railway Line

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of passengers using High Speed 1 trains at peak times between Ebbsfleet International Station and London terminals.

Joseph Johnson: My Hon Friend will be aware that the Department is running a competition to identify the next operator for the South Franchise. In developing the specification for this competition, the Department considered passenger numbers recorded in recent years and forecasts into the next franchise including those in the morning and evening peak periods.

Network Rail: Property

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many businesses occupying Network Rail properties due to be sold have received rent rises in excess of (a) 100 per cent, (b) 200 per cent, (c) 300 per cent and (d) 500 per cent in each of the last three years.

Joseph Johnson: Holding answer received on 11 June 2018



NR manages over 7,000 commercial properties. Since 2015-16 there have been on average around 2,450 rent changes per year. The vast majority of increases have been 0-5%. To obtain precise figures would however involve disproportionate cost. Either the Landlord or tenant is able to refer rent changes to an independent Arbitrator (who is a surveyor) if there is a dispute – the Arbitrator can be agreed by the parties or appointed by RICS if the parties cannot agree.

Network Rail: Property

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has received representations from businesses occupying Network Rail properties on the effect of rent rises on those properties on their ability to remain in those properties; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: Holding answer received on 12 June 2018



I have not received direct representations from businesses occupying Network Rail properties. I am, however, aware of the “Guardian of the Arches” campaign and the issues being raised by SMEs. As with all commercial property, rent reviews happen on a periodic basis as outlined in tenants’ leases; rent levels are also re-set when fixed term leases expire. This is part of Network Rail’s normal business activity. Once the business is sold, existing lease arrangements and protections will transfer to the new owner and the tenants’ rent review terms will continue as per their original lease agreement.

London-Brighton Railway Line: Repairs and Maintenance

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with (a) Network Rail and (b) Govia Thameslink Railway on the scheduled work programme on the Brighton Mainline in October 2018 and February 2019.

Joseph Johnson: Holding answer received on 12 June 2018



As part of the Government’s £300m programme of works to improve asset performance on the Brighton Mainline and Thameslink routes, Ministers and the Department’s officials have had regular discussions with Network Rail and Govia Thameslink Railway on the October 2018 and February 2019 works. The works in October 2018 and February 2019 will need to go through a number of industry readiness assessments and Ministers and officials have and will continue to challenge the rail industry to ensure the plans, and alternate travel arrangements for passengers, are appropriately robust.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: West Midlands

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what date construction work is planned to commence on the West Midlands to Crewe portion of HS2.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Construction work will begin on Phase 2a of the High Speed Two (HS2) rail project after the High Speed 2 (West Midlands – Crewe) Bill has passed through the full Parliamentary process. We aim to have Royal Assent by December 2019 which would mean that construction would begin in 2020. Some enabling work may commence earlier, such as modifications to utilities, highways and existing railway, under separate legal powers.

Road Traffic: Accidents

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many young drivers have been involved in road traffic accidents in each of the last two years.

Jesse Norman: The Department only holds data on police reported road collisions involving personal injury in Great Britain. The number of young drivers and car drivers aged between 17 and 24 involved in road accidents are shown in the table below for years 2015 and 2016. Number of young1 drivers/riders2 and car drivers involved3 in personal injury accidents in Great Britain, 2015 and 2016  YearDrivers/riders aged 17 to 24 involved in road accidentsCar drivers aged 17 to 24 involved in road accidents201540,09728,928201638,40027,717  Source: DfT STATS191 Young drivers/riders are defined as aged between 17 and 242 Drivers/riders of all vehicles, including motorcycle, pedal cycle and horse riders3 Note that this does not mean that the driver/rider or passenger of their vehicle is necessarily injured.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Internet: Fraud

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance his Department issues to (a) retailers and (b) consumers to raise awareness of the threat of online scams.

Andrew Griffiths: There is guidance on how to spot and avoid scams available to retailers and consumers from organisations including Citizen’s Advice, Trading Standards, banks, UK Finance, Action Fraud, and the FCA. In addition, we are currently in the first week of Scams Awareness Month (SAM) – an annual campaign which BEIS supports bringing together organisations nationally and locally to take a united stand against scams and fraud. The campaign which runs until the end of June aims to raise awareness with both consumers and business about all types of scams – online, telephone, mail and at the doorstep – with a focus on encouraging victims to speak up and report to the appropriate authorities. In the 2017 campaign last July over 360 organisations participated reaching over 1/3rd million consumers face to face and offline and saw a 17 percent increase during the campaign in people accessing online advice about scams through the Citizens Advice website. We hope to increase on those numbers this year.

European Research Council

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timeframe is for the UK to stop receiving funding from the European Research Council.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the maintenance of funding for (a) universities and (b) research projects after the UK ceases to receive European Research Council funding.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The UK is eligible to fully participate in all aspects of the Horizon 2020 programme, including the European Research Council (ERC) while we remain a member of the EU. The Joint Report, reflected in the draft Withdrawal Agreement, envisages that UK entities’ right to participate will remain unaffected by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU for the duration of the programme and the lifetime of projects funded under Horizon 2020. If necessary, the Government’s underwrite remains in place. This guarantees the funding for UK participants in projects ongoing at the point of exit, as well as any successful bids submitted before the UK leaves the EU. As part of our future partnership with the EU, the UK will look to establish a far reaching science and innovation pact. The UK would like the option to fully associate to the excellence-based European research and innovation programmes, including Horizon Europe, the successor to Horizon 2020. The UK intends to play a full and constructive role in shaping these proposals and we look forward to discussing the detail of any future UK participation with the Commission.

Iron and Steel

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2018 to Question 126973, if he will urgently respond to the steel sector deal proposal.

Richard Harrington: Sector Deals have proven to be a popular concept since suggested in the Industrial Strategy Green Paper in January 2017. A number of other sectors, including the steel sector, have expressed interest in a Sector Deal and, as set out in the White Paper, we expect to progress with further Deals that best meet the expectations set out in the White Paper, in due course. We continue to work with the sector, the unions and devolved administrations to support the development of a long-term viable solution for the UK steel industry.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Brexit

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the oral evidence of the Permanent Secretary of HMRC of 23 May and 5 June 2018 to the Treasury Committee, whether he has seen briefing papers on the estimated figures of £17-20 billion on the costs of the maximum facilitation model; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of those estimates.

Andrew Griffiths: The analysis to support the estimated £17-20 billion figure was published in a letter by the Chief Executive of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to the Treasury Select Committee on 5 June, 2018. The Government is considering two approaches to a future customs relationship with the EU: a ‘new customs partnership’ and a ‘highly streamlined customs arrangement’. Ongoing analysis continues to support the development of both models.

Iron and Steel

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support the UK steel sector following an increase in steel imports from non-EU countries since the start of the year.

Richard Harrington: We believe that multilateral action is the best way to resolve the problem of global overcapacity, and are working closely with the steel industry, the European Commission, and the G20 Global Forum on Excess Capacity to ensure overcapacity in the steel market is tackled on an international basis. In addition, to support of the UK steel sector the Government is providing compensation to energy intensive manufacturers for the costs of renewables and climate change policies. To date, we have provided a total of £250m in compensation to the sector. The Government has also secured flexibility over the implementation of EU emissions regulations and ensured that social and economic factors can be considered when the Government procures steel.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Rwanda: Politics and Government

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda in 2020, what steps he has taken to encourage the Rwandan President to (a) release political prisoners and (b) lift restrictions on the freedom of the press.

Harriett Baldwin: The Foreign Secretary met Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on 17 April where we discussed human rights and democratic development in Rwanda. We will continue to speak candidly with Rwanda, raising concerns about human rights, freedom of expression, media freedoms and the lack of political space.

Rwanda: Politics and Government

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Rwandan Government on ensuring the safety of Rwandan exiles (a) in the UK and (b) abroad.

Harriett Baldwin: When the Foreign Secretary met Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on 17 April, he raised the case of alleged threats to Rwandan dissidents resident in the United Kingdom and abroad, making clear that the UK takes a zero tolerance approach to violence and threats of violence.

South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the role of his Department is in reconvening negotiations between the warring parties in South Sudan.

Harriett Baldwin: The British Government has welcomed the important work that the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has done to bring the parties to the conflict together in pursuit of peace. We continue to work closely with IGAD and its member states to give the High Level Revitalisation Forum (HLRF) the best chance of success. The UK strongly urges the parties themselves to engage meaningfully with the HLRF, and to put the wellbeing of the South Sudanese people above their own political interests.While we welcome IGAD's efforts, the UK is deeply concerned that the region has failed to take action against those who have attempted to spoil the process. We urge IGAD to take swift and robust action, to leave spoilers in no doubt about the region's commitment to peace in South Sudan. The UK also continues to explore all possible avenues for action against those who undermine peace, to incentivise their positive engagement with the HLRF.

British Nationals Abroad: Diplomatic Service

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many British holiday makers have used the services of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as a result of not purchasing travel insurance in each year since 2015.

Harriett Baldwin: It is not possible to say how many British nationals have sought consular assistance specifically because they do not hold travel insurance. However, since 2016 we have recorded the insurance status of British nationals who have sought consular assistance. Please note that British nationals are not compelled to provide this information and many do not, particularly if the issue we are helping with would not involve an insurance claim. Therefore, the data is accurate as of the information provided to us. 201620172018 (to end May)Total consular cases30,62228,3188,163Total responses on travel insurance13,29215,3363,899Total without travel insurance4,0665,4151,427% of total cases13.3%19.1%17.5%% of responses30.6%35.3%36.6% Consular assistance is different in nature to the support offered by an insurance company, so is often requested by British nationals regardless of whether or not they hold valid travel insurance. The level of support we are able to provide is similar for those with and without insurance.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he is taking steps with other Departments to make preparations in the event of the UK not agreeing a deal with the EU.

Mr Steve Baker: It is in everyone’s interests to secure a good deal for both sides. We think that is by far and away the highest probability. However, as a responsible Government, we are preparing for all potential outcomes from negotiations with the EU, including for the unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached. Every Government department has drawn up well developed and flexible plans for this scenario.

Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how much money his Department has spent on preparations in the event of the UK not agreeing a deal with the EU.

Mr Steve Baker: DExEU does not classify or categorise budgets and expenditure by potential negotiation outcome. The 16-17 Annual Reports and Accounts covers expenditure and budgets since the Department’s inception see link below. The expenditure of 17-18 will be published in the 17-18 Annual Reports and Accounts in the summer 2018. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-2016-17

Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how much money his Department plans to spend on preparations in the event of the UK not agreeing a deal with the EU until the end of the transition period.

Mr Steve Baker: DExEU does not classify or categorise budgets and expenditure by potential negotiation outcome. Budgets from April 2017 to March 2020 are provided below and are in line with funding agreed by Parliament in the Mains Estimate. Budgets during the transition period not covered below are subject to the next spending review in 2019.   BUDGETS2017-182018-192019-20TOTAL£80,197k£95,985k£94,780k

Department for Exiting the European Union: Staff

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many members of staff are employed in his Department to work on preparations in the event of the UK not agreeing a deal with the EU by job grade.

Mr Steve Baker: All departments are equipping themselves with the resources they need to get the best deal for the UK, and to prepare for all possible outcomes of negotiations. The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 650 staff based in the UK plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels.The Department is continuing to recruit the brightest and the best. The Department for Exiting the European Union is responsible for overseeing negotiations to leave the EU and establishing the future relationship between the UK and EU. As such all staff in the Department are dedicated to planning, delivering or supporting the work on EU exit.

Business: Costs

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the implications are for his negotiations with the EU of the comments of 5 June 2018 by the chief executive of HMRC to the Treasury Select Committee on the cost to UK businesses of leaving with the EU without a deal.

Mr Steve Baker: It is in everyone’s interests to secure a good deal for both sides, and we are confident that good deal is clearer and closer than ever since we agreed the terms of an implementation period with the EU.While we think that is by far and away the highest probability, as a responsible government we have a duty to plan for a circumstance whereby we leave without a negotiated agreement. HMRC are on course to deliver functioning customs, VAT, and excise regimes the UK will need once it leaves the EU in any scenario. This will enable trade to flow, HMRC to collect revenues and the UK to have a secure border. DExEU continues to work with HMRC to understand the impacts of a range of future customs relationships with the EU.

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the potential effect of the UK not agreeing a deal with the EU on the automotive industry.

Mr Steve Baker: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with his Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues.The UK’s automotive industry is world leading. Global demand for UK designed, engineered, and manufactured vehicles is strong. Both the UK and the EU share a strong commercial interest in preserving integrated supply chains, including those that support just-in-time production across the automotive sector.We are determined to ensure that the UK continues to be one of the most competitive locations in the world for automotive and other advanced manufacturing.

Ports: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what plans ministers in his Department have to visit ports in Wales.

Suella Braverman: A number of UK Government ministers, including the Secretary of State for Wales and the Minister for Security, have visited Holyhead to discuss the impact of EU exit on the port. UK Government officials continue to work with port operators, key stakeholders, and the Welsh Government, to ensure that traffic continues to flow freely at ports in Wales once the UK has left the EU.

EURATOM

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the timetable is for the Joint Committee referred to in Article 157 of the Draft Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union to be established.

Mr Robin Walker: The UK will continue to engage constructively in the ongoing negotiations concerning the governance and dispute resolution mechanisms of our Withdrawal Agreement with the EU.Decisions concerning the exact details of the Joint Committee will follow on from these negotiations. We are clear however that the Joint Committee will be comprised of representatives from both the UK and the EU with the necessary expertise and experience, and it will be in place by March 2019, in time for the start of the implementation period.

EURATOM

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to article 157 of the Draft Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, how many people UK representatives the Government plans to appoint to the Joint Committee referred to in that article; and what the timetable is for that appointment process to be complete.

Mr Robin Walker: The UK will continue to engage constructively in the ongoing negotiations concerning the governance and dispute resolution mechanisms of our Withdrawal Agreement with the EU.Decisions concerning the exact details of the Joint Committee, including its representatives and the related appointments process, will follow on from these negotiations. We are clear however that the Joint Committee will be comprised of representatives from both the UK and the EU with the necessary expertise and experience.

EURATOM

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what process he plans to establish to help the Joint Committee referred to in Article 157 of the Draft Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union to be accountable to Parliament.

Mr Robin Walker: The UK will continue to engage constructively in the ongoing negotiations concerning the governance and dispute resolution mechanisms of our Withdrawal Agreement with the EU.Decisions concerning the exact details of the Joint Committee, including the necessary processes for establishing it, will follow on from these negotiations.It will be for Parliament to determine the level of scrutiny it will want to undertake based on the detailed arrangements agreed between the UK and EU. But of course the Government will work with Parliament to agree the right approach to scrutiny.

Department of Health and Social Care

NHS Trusts: Finance

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS hospital trusts have (a) reported financial deficits in their budget at the end of the 2017-18 financial year and (b) estimated such deficits for future financial years; and if he will publish that information by NHS trust.

Stephen Barclay: NHS Improvement publishes quarterly reports regarding the financial position of National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts. The latest figures on current deficits can be found in the NHS Improvement Quarter 4 performance report via the following link: https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/quarterly-performance-nhs-provider-sector-quarter-4-201718/ NHS trusts and foundation trusts will develop their own plans for future financial years which will be collated and validated by NHS Improvement.

Genetics: Screening

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) Public Health England have made of the role of (i) genetic testing and (ii) population level genomic data to improve public health.

Caroline Dinenage: The United Kingdom National Screening Committee recently recommended that the use of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing should be evaluated as an additional screening test in the antenatal screening programme for Down’s syndrome, Edwards’ syndrome and Patau syndrome. In addition to this, the use of next generation sequencing is currently being evaluated in the diagnostic pathway for babies found to be screen positive for cystic fibrosis. From October 2018, the National Health Service’s Genomic Medicine Service will, for the first time, be supported by a comprehensive directory of genomic tests for specified cancers and rare diseases that encompasses the entire testing repertoire from Whole Genomic Sequencing to tests for single genes, molecular markers and other functional genomic tests. This National Genomic Test Directory will be updated on an annual basis to keep pace with scientific and technological advances with a systematic review process in place to ensure continued value through the co-ordinated replacement of older tests with new and emerging approaches. The Test Directory will be updated annually, following advice from an expert scientific and clinical committee that will be established to operate in accordance with NHS England’s specialised services commissioning processes. The Chief Medical Officer for England’s annual report ‘Generation Genome’ provided a comprehensive overview of the role of clinical genomic testing and is being taken forward via the Minister-chaired National Genomics Board.

Genetics: Screening

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of rolling out population-wide genetic testing for mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes.

Caroline Dinenage: In the Cancer Strategy for England, the independent Cancer Taskforce recommended that all women with non-mucinous epithelial ovarian cancer should be offered testing for BRCA1/BRCA2 at the point of diagnosis, and that all women under the age of 50 diagnosed with breast cancer should be offered testing for BRCA1/BRCA2 at the point of diagnosis. Testing women at the point of diagnosis can ensure access to the most relevant treatment and enable family members to understand their own risk and take preventative action where appropriate. As part of the National Health Service’s new Genomic Medicine Service, NHS England will publish a Test Directory to specify the genetic and genomic testing available in the NHS in England. The Test Directory will encompass the entire genetic and genomic testing repertoire, from Whole Genomic Sequencing to large panel tests and tests for single genes. The Test Directory will be updated annually, following advice from an expert scientific and clinical committee that will be established to operate in accordance with NHS England’s specialised services commissioning processes.

Medical Treatments: Innovation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the products for the accelerated access pathway have now been selected; and when an announcement on such products is planned.

Steve Brine: We are currently in the process of appointing a new chair for the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC). Following this appointment, the AAC will meet to launch the Accelerated Access Pathway and will consider the first group of products as part of their discussions.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made to date on the Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Impact Trial.

Steve Brine: As of the 1 June 2018, 7,406 participants are enrolled on the trial. Information on participating clinics and enrollment status is regularly updated on the Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Impact Trial website, available at the following link: https://www.prepimpacttrial.org.uk/join-the-trial

HIV Infection

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the level of migrant access to HIV services; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: Data are not collected in the requested format as information on country of birth has not historically been captured for people accessing HIV care. Public Health England is currently in the process of validating country of birth data reported from the new HIV and AIDS Reporting System.

Public Health England

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress has been made on the Public Health England Action Plan.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) monitors and publishes key national and local indicators for HIV relating to ‘The Health promotion for sexual and reproductive health and HIV: strategic action plan, 2016-2019’ and PHE’s Action Plan for Promoting the health and wellbeing of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. As part of these plans PHE has commissioned a National HIV Prevention Programme aimed at men who have sex with men and black African communities. In 2017, PHE published nationally collected data on testing in community settings to provide local areas with a more comprehensive picture. PHE supports the sharing of good practice across the country through our network of Centres, including approaches to increase testing outside sexual health clinics. In collaboration with local authorities, PHE commissioned the National HIV Self-Sampling Service. In addition, PHE commissioned HIV prevention projects by community organisations through the HIV Innovation Fund, and shares the resulting evidence and resources. PHE has also published findings from an evaluation of condom distribution schemes in England and developed a resource pack to support local commissioners and services to address sexualised drug use among men who have sex with men.

HIV Infection

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on inclusion of information about HIV in the Department for Education's sex and relationships education draft guidance.

Steve Brine: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has met the Secretary of State for Education to discuss a range of issues of mutual interest. Officials in the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England are members of the cross-Government group convened by the Department for Education to inform the development of this guidance and discussions have included content around HIV infection.

HIV Infection

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government plans to adopt a target to help eliminate HIV by 2030.

Steve Brine: As a way of stopping new HIV infections, the United Kingdom is committed to the United Nations 95-95-95 targets which state that by 2030: 95% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status; 95% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy; and 95% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression. Further information is available in Public Health England’s report ‘Towards elimination of HIV transmission AIDS and HIV related deaths in the UK’, available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hiv-in-the-united-kingdom

Diabetes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to prepare a successor Diabetes National Service Framework.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the national standards of care for people with diabetes have been updated since the Diabetes National Service Framework was published in 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: NHS England has invested in a major national programme of work to improve outcomes for people with diabetes. It has no plans to prepare a successor to the Diabetes National Service Framework at this time. NHS England have published the NHS RightCare diabetes pathway to support local improvements by defining the core components of an optimal diabetes service for people with diabetes. This is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/rightcare/products/pathways/diabetes-pathway/ The NHS RightCare diabetes pathway takes into account the latest National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2018 to Questions 144259, 144260 and 144261, what the timetable is for implementing a system of primary care streaming and planning to establish an urgent treatment centre co-located with the accident and emergency department and a specific improvement focus on the 62-day cancer standard and the elimination of long waits for treatment within North Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Answer of 21 May 2018 to Questions 144259, 144260 and 144261, by what date he expects North Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust to be meeting its targets for (a) A&E waiting times, (b) 62-day cancer treatment and (c) planned operations and care.

Stephen Barclay: North Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group’s ambition is to have the final urgent treatment centres (UTC) model in place and operational by June 2019, but to start to work with existing providers of more traditional services (general practitioner out-of-hours, accident and emergency (A&E) and primary care streaming) immediately to start to work towards delivering the standards of a UTC prior to winter 2018/19. The Trust is receiving onsite support from the NHS Improvement regional support team and the Emergency Care Improvement Programme to improve performance at the Trust’s A&E. The Trust has an improvement plan in place to provide a month-on-month improvement throughout the year for performance against the 62-day cancer standard. The Trust has an ongoing sustained focus on improving the waiting times for planned treatment for all patients, including those with particularly long waits.

Ambulance Services

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2018 to Question 144262, for what reason his Department decided to collect information on ambulance handover delays in England for three months of the year only; and what assessment he has made of the effect on the NHS and patients of (a) those ambulance handover delays and (b) not collating annual data on those ambulance handover delays.

Stephen Barclay: NHS England is aware that hospital handover delays continue to present challenges to ambulance service operation. Hospital handover delay data were published as part of the NHS England Winter Daily Situation Reports and data continues to be collected and monitored to inform efforts to address delays.

Antibiotics: Drug Resistance

Sir Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK takes a global leadership role in tackling antimicrobial resistance.

Steve Brine: The United Kingdom has taken a strong global leadership role in the course of the current Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Strategy 2013-2018. This includes advocating for sustained political commitment and financial investment at the highest levels of multilateral fora including the European Union, the G7 and the G20. The UK also continues to provide support to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Organisation for Animal Health, challenging them and other United Nations agencies and international organisations to deliver an ambitious, robust and joined-up response which aligns with the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the Global Action Plan on AMR. The UK was instrumental in drafting and gaining support for a UN political declaration on AMR, which was agreed by 193 UN member states at the UN General Assembly in September 2016. Alongside this political agreement, the UK co-hosted a side event where over £600 million was committed by countries for AMR research and development. To ensure progress of the 2016 UN Resolution, the Interagency Coordination Group (IACG) on AMR was established, with the UK’s Chief Medical Officer, providing pivotal momentum as an expert member and co-convener in her independent capacity. The IACG is due to report to the UN Secretary General in summer 2019. Since the beginning of the current strategy in 2013, the UK Government has committed over £615 million in delivering domestic and international programmes to tackle AMR, including the Fleming Fund (£265 million) and the Global AMR Innovation Fund (£50 million). These programmes focus on supporting low- and middle-income countries to combat AMR in humans, animals and the environment `by supporting countries to implement comprehensive AMR National Action Plans and by leveraging investment and expertise from around the world. The Department also works with its executive agencies to combat AMR at the global level. For instance, Public Health England provides specialist training programmes internationally and is on the steering group of the WHO-hosted Global AMR Surveillance System. The UK also continues to work with international agencies to ensure we effectively manage the risks of AMR in the environment. For instance, the UK worked with EU partners to develop the ‘AMR in the environment’ resolution at the UN Environment Assembly in December 2017.

Ibrutinib

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care how many people have received Ibrutinib on the NHS for the treatment of relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia since January 2017.

Steve Brine: The information requested is not available. The number of patients registered to receive treatment with ibrutinib for relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia between 1 January 2017 and 31 May 2018 was 976. Patients registered to receive a treatment do not then necessarily go on to receive treatment with a drug.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the public purse has been of providing free prescriptions to people (a) with specific medical reasons and (b) over the age of 60 in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: The Net Ingredient Cost (NIC) for items that were dispensed and captured against the exemption categories of Medical Exemption and Aged 60 or Over in each of the last four financial years is shown in the following table. Data prior to January 2014 is not available from the NHS Business Service Authority Data Warehouse. Financial YearMedical ExemptionAged 60 Or OverNIC (£)NIC (£)2014/151,008,790,223.284,591,872,168.092015/161,068,908,264.784,822,383,109.272016/171,078,913,201.674,835,587,383.602017/181,079,489,073.684,801,910,957.35 Source: NHS Business Service Authority Information Services Data Warehouse.

Medical Equipment: EU Law

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for the UK's complete implementation of the EU Medical Devices Regulation which takes full effect in 2020.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is committed to the safe and effective regulation of medical devices in the United Kingdom. We continue to strengthen safety while ensuring patients and the public have fast access to new, innovative devices. The new European Union Devices Regulations entered into force in May 2017. The EU Medical Devices Regulation will be fully applied from May 2020, during the implementation period agreed with the EU. This would not automatically follow for the new EU Regulations for in vitro diagnostic (IVD) medical devices, which does not apply until May 2022. However, elements of both new Devices Regulations have been applied directly in UK law since May 2017, meaning devices, including IVDs, can now be legally placed on the UK market if they are in conformity with the new regulations, invoking all relevant requirements. Under our responsibilities as a Member State, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency continues to work to implement the new Regulations and has met all relevant milestones set out in the legislation.

Care Homes: Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to increase the pay of care assistants to improve staff retention.

Caroline Dinenage: The majority of social care in England is delivered by private companies who determine the pay rates of their staff including care assistants. The National Minimum Wage is the legal minimum employers must pay their workers. The Government is committed to creating an economy that works for everyone, and ensuring workers are paid fairly. Since the introduction of the National Living Wage, the average salary for a care worker in the independent sector has gone up by 4%, with those full time staff on the minimum wage seeing a pay rise of up to £2,000 since 2015. The Department continues to work in partnership with Skills for Care and key stakeholders to develop tools and techniques for employers to support effective recruitment practices and improved retention of the care workforce including continued professional development.

General Practitioners: Finance

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the oral evidence given by the Prime Minister to the Liaison Committee on 27 March 2018, what share of funds he plans to allocate to general practice under the multi-year NHS funding settlement; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: My Rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced, in her evidence to the Liaison Committee on 27 March, her intention to come forward with a long-term plan for the National Health Service, supported by a multi-year financial settlement to deliver that plan. The Government will bring forward a long-term plan this year, in advance of the Spending Review. The Government will work with NHS leaders, clinicians and experts to develop this long-term plan, to ensure that the NHS can cope with the serious demand and cost pressures it faces in the future. No decision has yet been taken on the share of funds to be allocated to general practice under the multi-year financial settlement.

General Practitioners

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle GP workload.

Steve Brine: We are tackling general practitioner (GP) workload by investing in the Releasing Time to Care Programme and expanding the skill mix in general practice. The Releasing Time for Care Programme is designed to help practices implement change to release time more quickly and sustainably. As of October 2017 a series of workshops have reached around 4,800 participants, and survey responses suggest that attending the workshop has had an immediate and substantial effect on practices’ optimism. We are widening the skills mix by investing in the wider general practice workforce in extra mental health therapists, clinical pharmacists, general practice nurse development, training of current reception and clerical staff, training of physician associates, pilots of new medical assistant roles, and practice manager development nationwide to free up valuable GP time.

Smoking

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made with Public Health England Tobacco Implementation Board on implementing the recommendations of the Independent Cancer Taskforce; on what date his Department has held meetings with that Board; and who attended those meetings.

Steve Brine: The ‘Tobacco Control Plan for England: Towards a smoke-free generation’, published in July 2017, takes into account the recommendations of the Independent Cancer Taskforce, and focuses on reducing smoking prevalence within priority groups such as people with mental health conditions, people in routine and manual occupations and pregnant women, tackling the associated health inequalities. A special meeting of the Public Health England Tobacco Control Implementation Board was held on 20 December 2017 to discuss the Plan. I chaired the meeting which was attended by representatives of the Department, Public Health England and key stakeholders including Cancer Research UK, the Royal College of Physicians, British Medical Association, British Thoracic Society, Action on Smoking and Health and the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies.

Continuing Care

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of funding for the NHS was allocated to NHS continuing healthcare in the (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18 financial year.

Caroline Dinenage: NHS Continuing Healthcare is funded by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) from their overall revenue allocations. It is for CCGs to make decisions on funding based on the needs of their local populations, however, when someone is assessed as eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare, CCGs are responsible for funding the full care package to meet their assessed needs. In 2016/17, the overall spend for NHS Continuing Healthcare packages of care was £3,112,362. It is estimated that is approximately 2.9% of the overall 2016/17 NHS Mandate revenue allocation. In 2017/18, the overall spend for NHS Continuing Healthcare packages of care was £3,152,965. It is estimated that is approximately 2.9% of the overall 2017/18 NHS Mandate revenue allocation.

Continuing Care

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of funding for the NHS his Department plans to allocate to NHS continuing healthcare in the (a) 2018-19 and (b) 2019-20 financial year.

Caroline Dinenage: NHS Continuing Healthcare is funded by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) from their overall revenue allocations. It is for CCGs to make decisions on funding based on the needs of their local populations, however, when someone is assessed as eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare, CCGs are responsible for funding the full care package to meet their assessed needs. It is estimated that spending on NHS Continuing Healthcare will increase by over 20% by 2020/21, or an average of approximately 3.9% per year. It is not currently possible to accurately estimate the proportion of overall National Health Service spend on NHS Continuing Healthcare for future years.

Continuing Care

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to reduce the growth in spending on NHS continuing healthcare without reducing the standards of care provided to patients.

Caroline Dinenage: NHS England’s NHS Continuing Healthcare Strategic Improvement Programme aims to provide fair access to NHS Continuing Healthcare in a way which ensures better outcomes, better experience, and better use of resources. Planned efficiencies are not predicated on changes to eligibility or on limiting the care packages available. Clinical commissioning groups have a responsibility to ensure high standards of care and a reduction in the growth in spending will not impact this.

Continuing Care

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to reduce the growth in spending on NHS continuing healthcare without reducing the number of patients who are eligible for continuing healthcare funds; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: NHS England’s NHS Continuing Healthcare Strategic Improvement Programme aims to provide fair access to NHS Continuing Healthcare in a way which ensures better outcomes, better experience, and better use of resources. The programme will not change the threshold for eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare, which is based on a multidisciplinary assessment of needs as set out in the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care, together with secondary legislation to give statutory effect to the eligibility criteria and the decision-making processes. There should be no quota or cap on access to NHS Continuing Healthcare funding and the programme does not aim to reduce spending on NHS Continuing Healthcare, but to reduce the rate of growth of expenditure. The projection is for spending on NHS Continuing Healthcare to increase by over 20% by 2020/21, or an average of approximately 3.9% per year.

Continuing Care

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to reduce the growth in spending on NHS continuing healthcare without increasing the number of continuing healthcare patients who are placed in residential care facilities; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: Eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare is determined following a multidisciplinary assessment of needs as set out in the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care. If an individual is eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare and requires a placement in a nursing or residential care home this will be determined locally by the clinical commissioning group, in accordance with the National Framework. The National Framework makes it clear that an individual’s preferences must be taken into account when agreeing the contents and setting of a care package.

NHS Trusts: Private Finance Initiative

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the refinancing of PFI contracts for NHS Trusts.

Stephen Barclay: The debt incurred to finance Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects is incurred predominantly by the PFI companies themselves. Officials at the Department discuss refinancing opportunities with the PFI companies as and when the relevant circumstances arise, although opportunities for re-financing PFI schemes are now comparatively limited given the nature of the financial instruments used by the PFI companies at the time. More generally the Department has helped and advised local trust contract managers where requested in relation to PFI contractual issues and also to support trusts in making operational savings in their PFI schemes.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of accident and emergency departments consistently met the national target of being admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival in (i) Essex, (ii) the East of England and (iii) England in 2010.

Stephen Barclay: Information relating to accident and emergency (A&E) admissions, transfers and discharge in Essex and the East of England is not available in the format requested. NHS England collects and publishes performance data against the four-hour A&E standard at both a trust and a national level. The data is not available by the requested geographical areas. Data for England is available at the following link. It should be noted that the data in 2010/11 was collected from November 2010 onwards and as such, only shows a partial year: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/weekly-ae-sitreps-2010-11/

Princess Alexandra Hospital Harlow

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients received emergency care at the Princess Alexandra accident and emergency department in Harlow within four hours of arrival in each year from 2010 to 2017.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients received emergency care at the Princess Alexandra hospital in Harlow in (a) 2012, (b) 2013 (c) 2014, (d) 2015, (e) 2016 and (f) 2017.

Stephen Barclay: Data on accident and emergency (A&E) attendances and emergency admissions, as well as the number of patients seen within four hours of arrival at an A&E department, is published by NHS England on a monthly basis. This includes reporting at a national level as well as by individual National Health Service provider, including the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust. This data is available from 2010-11 (partial year) to 2017-18 via the link below: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/

Princess Alexandra Hospital Harlow

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many doctors were employed at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow in each year from 2010 to 2017.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nurses were employed at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow in each year from 2010 to 2017.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many healthcare assistants were employed at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow in each year from 2010 to 2017.

Stephen Barclay: The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust runs three hospitals: Princess Alexandra Hospital, St. Margaret's Hospital and Herts and Essex Hospital. NHS Digital data goes to the level of National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups but does not go to the level of individual hospital sites and therefore the information is not available in the format requested.

Princess Alexandra Hospital Harlow

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the vacancy rate for nurses was at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow in each year from 2010 to 2017.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the vacancy rate for nurses was at NHS hospitals in Essex in each year from 2010 to 2017.

Stephen Barclay: The information is not held centrally. NHS Improvement publishes information on vacancy rates by staff group as well as number of vacancies and vacancy rates by region and sector but this data is not held at the level of the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow and Essex.

Dental Services

Mr Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2018 to Question 145294 on Dental Services, in what format the information is held.

Steve Brine: NHS England collects data for management purposes on expenditure including any underspend across a number of sectors including dental services. As management data this information is held in an unvalidated form.

Princess Alexandra Hospital Harlow

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients were admitted to the Princess Alexandra hospital in Harlow for appointments for treatment in (a) 2012, (b) 2013 (c) 2014, (d) 2015, (e) 2016 and (f) 2017.

Stephen Barclay: Data is not available in the format requested. A count of finished admission episodes (FAEs) for the Princess Alexandra Hospital, for the financial years between 2011-12 and 2016-17 is shown in the following table. This is a count of admissions, not patients, as the same patient may have been admitted on more than one occasion within the time period. Financial yearFAEs2011-1262,6502012-1360,4232013-1467,6302014-1572,1192015-1671,9452016-1769,514 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS Digital

Princess Alexandra Hospital Harlow

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average occupancy rate was for beds at the Princess Alexandra hospital in Harlow in (a) 2012, (b) 2013 (c) 2014, (d) 2015, (e) 2016 and (f) 2017.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average occupancy rate was for beds at NHS hospitals in England in (a) 2012, (b) 2013 (c) 2014, (d) 2015, (e) 2016 and (f) 2017.

Stephen Barclay: Data is not available in the format requested. NHS England publishes quarterly performance data on bed occupancy rates. The following table includes bed occupancy rates for Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust and England. Bed occupancy rates at Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust and England for total beds and general and acute beds at quarter 4 for each year from 2011-12 to 2016-17 The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS TrustEnglandYearTotalGeneral and AcuteTotalGeneral and Acute Overnight BedsOvernight Beds2016-1793.5%100.0%89.0%91.4%2015-1693.8%96.0%89.0%91.2%2014-1588.1%90.8%88.5%90.7%2013-1487.5%89.5%87.5%89.6%2012-1393.4%96.0%87.6%89.8%2011-1291.8%92.5%86.9%89.0% Day bedsDay beds2016-1778.4%80.2%86.9%87.0%2015-1687.4%87.4%86.4%86.6%2014-1588.0%88.0%86.5%86.6%2013-1494.5%94.5%87.3%87.4%2012-1392.6%92.6%86.6%86.7%2011-1293.1%93.1%87.6%87.7%Source: NHS England statistics Notes:- Figures are an average per day over each quarter.- Occupancy rates are not available for all mental health, maternity and learning disability beds for all years at all trusts.

Princess Alexandra Hospital Harlow

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the infrastructure at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow.

Stephen Barclay: Following the Care Quality Commission’s inspection report earlier this year, which identified a number of concerns with the estate at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, the Trust has been working with NHS Improvement to address these issues, and to develop an estates and capital strategy.

Food: Safety

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the safety of imported food after the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to support environmental health professionals in Northern Ireland to maintain the safety and authenticity of food moving across each of the separate border crossings in the event of the reintroduction of border controls on the island of Ireland after the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the need to re-establish the inspection of food from the EU at UK ports in the event of no trade deal being reached with the EU.

Steve Brine: The Government is preparing to negotiate our exit from the European Union, and our new relationship with the EU which aims for the freest possible trade in goods and services between the United Kingdom and the EU. This does not change the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA’s) top priority which is to ensure that food, whether imported or produced in the UK, remains safe and what it says it is. The FSA is already working hard to ensure that the high standard of food safety and consumer protection we enjoy in this country is maintained when the UK leaves the EU. The FSA is part of a cross-Government group exploring options for future border operations, but decisions on how the UK border will operate will depend on the outcome of the negotiations. As my Rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister said in her Mansion House speech, the introduction of border controls on the island of Ireland would ‘be inconsistent with the commitments that both we and the EU have made in respect of Northern Ireland’. The FSA’s plans to ensure that food in the UK continues to be safe therefore do not envisage a scenario where border controls are introduced on the island of Ireland. The FSA will strive to ensure that controls to protect public health on imported food originated from the EU are properly risk-based and proportionate, taking account of surveillance and risk assessment findings and wider Government policy on trade. Its proposed plan reflects this objective. The FSA has already commenced a programme comprehensively to revise and upgrade its approach to surveillance. The delivery of this programme, which aims to make far better use of data collected by others and to target more effectively expenditure on sampling, will better enable potential risks and threats to be identified while also ensuring that checks on imported food are carried out on a risk-based and proportionate basis.

Princess Alexandra Hospital Harlow

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much government funding was provided to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow in financial years (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, (e) 2014-15, (d) 2015-16, (f) 2016-17 and (g) 2017-18.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department allocated to NHS hospitals in England in financial year (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, (e) 2014-15, (d) 2015-16, (f) 2016-17 and (g) 2017-18.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department allocated to NHS Trusts in England in financial year (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, (e) 2014-15, (d) 2015-16, (f) 2016-17 and (g) 2017-18.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which NHS hospital in England was allocated the greatest amount of funding by his Department in financial year (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, (e) 2014-15, (d) 2015-16, (f) 2016-17 and (g) 2017-18.

Stephen Barclay: Providers are not funded directly by the Department. The majority of the Department’s funding is allocated to NHS England, primarily for the commissioning of healthcare services from a range of primary and secondary care providers. National Health Service providers (including NHS trusts and foundation trusts) fund their spending via income received from NHS commissioners in return for the provision of healthcare services to their local population. Income levels at individual hospitals are not separately reported but consolidated into NHS trust accounts. The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust comprises three hospitals: Princess Alexandra Hospital, St. Margaret's Hospital and Herts and Essex Hospital. Details of income received by this trust can be found in their published accounts, with the latest accounts available via this link: https://www.pah.nhs.uk/article/972/Trust-Documents The following table summarises the total aggregate income levels for all trusts from 2011-12. YearAggregate income for all providers (£ million)2011-1267,5872012-1370,2122013-1472,2472014-1574,5392015-1675,9672016-1780,5402017-1882,607 The NHS trust which received the highest level of income from 2012-13 is Barts Health NHS Trust which merged in 2012 and comprises five hospitals. In 2011-12 Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital NHS Foundation Trust recorded the highest level of income across all providers. The Department does not hold records on income levels in individual trusts prior to 2011-12.

Hospitals: Capital Investment

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish his Department's capital funding for projects in NHS hospitals in England; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS hospitals in England have received more than £100 million in capital funding for a single project since 2010.

Stephen Barclay: Each year the Department publishes a report on both the capital and revenue funding to NHS Providers - The Department’s Financial Assistance under Section 40 of the National Health Service Act 2006 – is attached. The 2017-18 report will be published alongside the annual audited accounts in July. The following table details major infrastructure projects above £100 million (defined as major whole or partial hospital new builds) financed since 2010, with four being through public capital and four through Private Finance Initiatives (PFI). NHS TrustScheme descriptionFundingCapital Financing £ millionYear of Financial CloseBrighton and Sussex University NHS TrustThree-phase building works to deliver a Regional Centre for Teaching, Trauma and Tertiary Care at Royal Sussex County HospitalPublic Capital4852015/16University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustHaematology and Short Stay Surgery (Phase 4 Development) and Head and Neck Services (Phase 5 Development)Public capital3052014/15West London Mental Health NHS TrustMajor redevelopment of Broadmoor hospitalPublic Capital2712014/15Royal Free London NHS Foundation TrustChase Farm Redevelopment ProjectPublic Capital1192016/17Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS TrustNew build to replace Liverpool University HospitalPFI4502013/14Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS TrustNew acute hospital on Queen Elizabeth Hospital site and community facilities (Midland Metropolitan Hospital)PFI3402015/16Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation TrustCreation of 'Children's Health Park'PFI2372012/13Papworth Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustNew cardiothoracic centrePFI1652014/15Total  2,372



PQ150050 attached document
(PDF Document, 1.7 MB)

Asthma

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients in (a) the UK, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) Colne Valley suffer from asthma.

Steve Brine: We do not hold the data in the format requested. However, the Department can provide a response using data from the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) covering primary care. This data covers England and we cannot answer for the entire United Kingdom. The QOF provides the number of patients registered with asthma for England, West Yorkshire Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) and NHS Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), for 2016/17, shown in the following table.QOF Asthma recorded disease prevalence, 2016-17Asthma Recorded PrevalenceOrganisation NameNumber of practicesList SizeRegister of asthma patientsPrevalence (%)England7,39258,029,1473,444,2185.94West Yorkshire STP3342,682,913170,4356.35NHS Greater Huddersfield CCG37246,58315,9236.46

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reviewing prescription charges for people with long-term conditions.

Steve Brine: The Department has no plans to review prescription charges for people with long-term conditions. In the financial year 2016/17, prescription charge income generated £554.9 million of revenue for the National Health Service which played a key role in contributing to the cost of providing services. Source: Department of Health Annual Report and Accounts 2016-17

Electronic Cigarettes: Prescriptions

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the prescription of e-cigarettes by GPs as part of smoking cessation programmes.

Steve Brine: There is a route through the Medicines Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for e-cigarettes to be granted a medicinal licence for prescriptions on the National Health Service. To date, one company has been granted a license, but decided against bringing the product to market as a prescribed medicine. This is ultimately a commercial decision.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Dr Paul Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who is responsible for making a decision on whether a patient qualifies for an exemption under the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 and as set out in his Department's accompanying guidance; and to what extent clinicians are involved in such decisions.

Stephen Barclay: The NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 place a legal obligation on providers of National Health Service-funded secondary care to identify patients who are not ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom (‘overseas visitors’) and make and recover charges from them unless an exemption from charge category applies to either the patient or the service they access. The Department has issued guidance to the NHS called ‘Guidance on overseas visitors hospital charging regulations’ in which it strongly recommends that trusts appoint a designated Overseas Visitors Manager to oversee the charging regime however all staff including clinicians have a responsibility to ensure that the charging rules work effectively. Clinicians provide appropriate healthcare for patients and make decisions on their treatment based on their clinical needs. The charging regulations do not change that. However, clinicians will at times, be required to make a decision on whether treatment is urgent or immediately necessary for those patients identified as not eligible for NHS-funded care. It is only a clinician who can make an assessment of whether a patient’s need for treatment is immediately necessary, urgent or non-urgent for patients whose status is unknown or have been identified as being chargeable.

Smoking

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish an evaluation of the 2017 Stoptober campaign before the start of the 2018 Stoptober campaign.

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish an evaluation of the effectiveness of the 2017 Stoptober campaign before the start of the 2018 Stoptober campaign.

Steve Brine: An evaluation of Stoptober 2017, including the effectiveness of the campaign, will be published in summer 2018, before the start of the 2018 campaign.

Smoking

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the implementation plan for the Government's tobacco control plan entitled Towards a smoke-free generation, published in July 2017.

Steve Brine: The implementation plan, known as The Tobacco Control Delivery Plan 2018-2022, developed to support delivery of the Tobacco Control Plan for England was published on 7 June 2018 and is available on Gov.uk.

NHS: Hygiene

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the effect that regular and long-term use of antiseptic hand gel for infection control has on the health of NHS employees.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department does not hold this information. The effect of regular and long-term use of antiseptic hand gel on the health of National Health Service employees is an occupational health issue. Information would be held on confidential individual staff records in organisations.

NHS: Hygiene

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with NHS executives on provision for staff whose medically required allergy bracelets violate infection control policies.

Caroline Dinenage: This is a matter for local infection prevention and control policies and will be handled differently in different organisations.

Mental Health Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the budget is of the prevention concordat for better mental health programme; and how much has been spent to date on that programme.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Data is not collected in the format requested.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the (a) costs recovered from foreign nationals who have received NHS treatment and (b) cost to the public purse of health tourism in each of the last three years.

Stephen Barclay: It is not possible to provide an estimate of the cost recovered of treating foreign nationals who have received National Health Service treatment as patient nationality is not reported by NHS provider trusts. The Department does not hold information on the cost to the public purse of health tourism. However income identified from chargeable overseas visitors, including European Economic Area (EEA) and non-EEA nationals for NHS services for the subsequent years can be found in the table below which is also published in the NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts annual accounts.  2014-152015-162016-17Income from Chargeable Overseas Patients (£'000)46,79769,24681,402Income from other European Union states for treatment of their citizens (£'000)50,04558,57286,066Source: 2015-16 and 2016-17 NHS trust and foundation trust annual accounts

Department for Education

Pupils: Obesity

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department has given schools on carrying out obesity checks on pupils.

Nadhim Zahawi: Schools are a vital part of the government’s plans to tackle childhood obesity, and the department encourages a healthy, balanced diet and healthy life choices through school funding, legislation and guidance. The Department for Education does not provide guidance to schools on the specific issue of carrying out obesity checks on pupils. However, Public Health England publishes resources to support families (Change4Life), schools (Our Healthy Year) and health professionals to address childhood obesity. The School Food Standards provide the legislative framework to ensure schools provide children with healthy food and drink options. We have recently doubled the Primary PE and Sport Premium to £320 million a year from the 2017-18 academic year. We have also established a £100 million healthy pupils capital fund to facilitate an improvement in children’s physical and mental health by increasing and improving access to and use of relevant facilities, such as kitchens, dining facilities, changing rooms and sports facilities. We are also investing up to £26 million to kick-start or improve breakfast club provision in over 1,700 schools.

Academies

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2018 to Question 145610 on Academies, if he will publish the names and local authority area of the 21 schools that had their academy orders revoked; and for each school whether the revocation was a result of (a) subsequent Ofsted inspections (b) closure and (c) merger.

Nadhim Zahawi: The attached table lists the 21 schools that have had their academy orders revoked and the reason. The department supports all schools becoming sponsored academies to have school improvement plans in place regardless of their place in the process. Revoking an academy order takes place only in very specific circumstances, with careful consideration from all parties involved.



Schools_that_have_had_their_academy_orders_revoked
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Teachers

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of teachers employed in state (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each of the last eight years.

Nick Gibb: The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of teachers in service in state funded nursery/primary schools and secondary schools in England for January 2009 and for November 2010 to 2016. Information for November 2017 will be available on 28 June 2018. Nursery/Primary Teachers (Thousands)Secondary Teachers (Thousands)January 2009200.9225.5November 2010196.4219.0November 2011199.5215.2November 2012204.7215.7November 2013209.5214.2November 2014215.5213.4November 2015220.0210.9November 2016222.4208.2Sources: January 2009 (Form 618g), November 2010 to 2016 (School Workforce Census).The information provided is publicly available from table 1 in the Statistical First Release ‘School Workforce in England, November 2016’. It can be found in the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-workforce.

Apprentices: Taxation

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2018 to Question 144910, on Apprentices: Taxation, what estimate he has made of the amount of funds that will be unspent in apprenticeship levy-paying employers’ apprenticeship service accounts after the two year deadline.

Anne Milton: The Department for Education has a ring-fenced apprenticeship budget which has been set regardless of how much levy receipts are each year. This budget was set at £2.01 billion for the 2017-18 financial year and £2.23 billion for 2018/19. It is used to fund new apprenticeship starts in levy and non-levy paying employers and to cover the ongoing training costs of apprentices that are already in training. Levy-paying employers have up to 24 months in which to spend the funds available to them, with the first levy funds starting to expire in May 2019. This allows sufficient time for employers to establish apprenticeship programmes, while incentivising behaviour to drive starts and manage the department’s spend. Spending on the apprenticeship programme is demand led, and employers can choose which apprenticeships they offer, how many and when, and we do not anticipate that all employers who pay the levy will want to use all the funds in their accounts. Therefore, robust estimates of employers’ future spending and any underspends are not possible. We will publish details on aggregate apprenticeship spending in our departmental end-of-year accounts as part of our normal financial reporting cycle. To help employers we have ongoing face-to-face support for over 1,000 of the largest levy-paying employers through our national account managers, and ongoing support via telephone for small and medium-sized enterprises to encourage them to invest their levy funds through registering for an apprenticeship service account. We also encourage self-service support via comprehensive guidance on our web pages:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-levy-how-it-will-work/apprenticeship-levy-how-it-will-work.https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-apprenticeship-funds.

Supply Teachers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many substitute teachers are registered for teaching in England and Wales.

Nick Gibb: Data on the number of substitute teachers is not collected because the School Workforce Census does not show which teachers are replacing another teacher on a temporary basis.The School Workforce Census collects the number of “occasional” teachers who are on a contract or service agreement with a school for less than a month and who are in school on the day of the census. There were 12,800 “occasional” teachers in service in state-funded schools in England in November 2016. This is the most recent month for which this information is available. November 2017 figures will be available on 28 June 2018.The information provided is publicly available from table 3a in the Statistical First Release ‘School Workforce in England, November 2016’. This is available at the following weblink: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-workforce.Information for Wales is a matter for the devolved administrations. This information is available at the following link: https://gov.wales/statistics-and-research/key-education-statistics/?lang=en.

Open University: Student Numbers

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to higher education funding on student numbers at the Open University in each year since 2011.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The government recognises the decline in part-time study within the sector, and is aware of the impact this has had on the Open University. That’s why the government is committed to supporting part time students and since 2012, it has paid the tuition fees of students studying on part-time courses up-front through a system of subsidised fee loans. In addition, new part-time students attending degree level courses from August 2018 onwards will, for the first time, be able to apply for up-front loans to help them with their living costs. Subject to the development of a robust control regime, these loans will be extended to students on distance learning courses from August 2019. The government continues, through the Office for Students (previously Higher Education Funding Council for England), to provide direct grant funding to support successful outcomes for part-time students. This was worth £72 million in the current academic year (2017/18), and the Open University received a sizeable amount of this funding. This funding reflects the particular costs associated with recruiting and retaining part-time students and includes funds to support successful outcomes for part-time students. The Open University received £48 million to support teaching activity in 2017/18.

Languages: Qualifications

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to encourage more students to study modern foreign languages at GCSE and A Level.

Nick Gibb: Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) are compulsory in maintained schools at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3. In Key Stage 4, MFL is an essential part of the English Baccalaureate combination of subjects. The Government will also build expert hubs for languages to share best teaching practice among schools and improve access to high-quality MFL teaching. The Government is also ensuring that all schools have the resources needed to increase the take-up of MFL by their students. As a result, several measures have been put in place to encourage more MFL specialists into Initial Teacher Training. These include targeted marketing campaigns, supporting potential MFL Initial Teacher Training applicants to increase the proportion of successful applications and offering financial incentives, such as scholarships and tax-free bursaries worth up to £26,000, for MFL trainee teachers. Seed funding will also be provided to universities so that MFL undergraduates can opt in to complete Qualified Teacher Status alongside their degree. The Teacher Subject Specialism Training initiative aims to attract existing teachers into MFL by improving current teachers’ MFL skills and helping returning teachers and career changers to enter MFL teaching.

Higher Education: Dartford

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of young people from Dartford who went to university in each of the last five years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) publishes data on the proportion of 18 year olds entering full-time undergraduate higher education by parliamentary constituency.The figures for the latest five years are shown in the table below:Table 1 – Entry rates to higher education for 18 year olds in Dartford constituencyYear2013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18Entry Rate29.9%27.3%32.5%32.8%31.8%

Ministry of Justice

Witnesses: Children

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the average waiting time for child witnesses for each Crown Court in each of the last three years.

Lucy Frazer: Our commitment to witnesses, in terms of time spent waiting at court, is clearly set out in The Witness Charter, namely that everyone involved in a case will seek to ensure that witnesses do not have to wait more than two hours at court before giving evidence. Where the circumstances of a case do not make this possible, witnesses are kept informed. To monitor how effective we are in this regard, and to inform ways in which to improve the witness experience, HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) completes a biannual witness monitoring survey in every Crown Court. The survey takes place over a two-week period in June and November each year at Magistrates’ and Crown Courts. It records different witness types including civilian adult and child witnesses. A witness is treated as a child witness if under 18 years of age. Only the first 30 witnesses over the sample period are recorded at each site. Therefore, only a few children are captured by the survey and the average waiting time does not necessarily represent the average waiting time of all child witnesses. Average child witness waiting times at the Crown Court in the last three years is contained in the table below.Crown Court201520162017Number of WitnessesAverage waiting time (hrs:mins)Number of WitnessesAverage waiting time (hrs:mins)Number of WitnessesAverage waiting timeAll England & Wales Crown Courts7,92001:596,73102:046,48602:02of which Children (under 18)22801:5324801:3819601:55

Prisoners on Remand

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of being remanded in prison on people that are subsequently found not guilty in court and acquitted of the charge.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people on remand in prison in advance of a trial were acquitted in each year between 2010 and 2017; and what was the (a) mean and (b) median length of time on remand was in each of those years.

Rory Stewart: Decisions about whether to grant bail or remand in custody and decisions regarding a finding of guilt or innocence are solely matters for the courts acting in accordance with the law, and are separate considerations to whether guilt is proved or not, under different legal provisions. It is therefore possible for a court to make an entirely appropriate decision to remand in custody and for that person to be subsequently found not guilty and acquitted. There has been no assessment of the effect of being remanded in prison on people who are subsequently found not guilty and acquitted. From published figures it is not possible to determine if a defendant was remanded in custody in advance of trial. The figures include defendants remanded in custody at any stage of court proceedings and at some point before the court outcome is provided. The number of defendants remanded in custody in England and Wales prior to an outcome of acquittal, from 2010 to 2017, can be viewed in the attached table.The mean and the median length of time for defendants on remand cannot be determined as this information is not held on the Courts Proceedings Database.

Trials

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of Crown Court trials prosecuted in the name of the Crown were subject to a successful application to dismiss in each year between 2010 and 2017.

Lucy Frazer: Information on the number and nature of acquittals made on the direction of the judge in trial cases in the Crown Court between 2010 and 2016 is set out below. Data on the proportion of cases is not available as acquittals data collected is based on defendants rather than cases. Defendants acquitted in trial cases in the Crown Court after a not guilty plea1, by manner of acquittal, England and Wales, 2007 - 2016YearManner of acquittalDischarged by judgeAcquittal directed by judgeOther acquittal2Total 200710,3601,66018217,226 200810,2451,49720016,786 200911,1461,66923318,583 201013,0351,74120520,902 201111,8631,59918119,380 201210,1221,47817117,280 20138,5361,32217015,141 20149,3231,38715816,535 20159,6841,42716017,367 20169,2521,25313716,508 Notes:1) Includes cases where defendants plead not guilty to all counts and also cases where defendants plead not guilty to some counts2) Other acquittals include where no plea is recorded, autrefois acquit and autrefois convict

Courts: Interpreters

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what safeguards his Department has in place to ensure that contracted interpreters for courts and tribunals are appropriately qualified and competent in the use of (a) the foreign language they are translating into English, (b) the English language, (c) English law and (d) English and Welsh judiciary's legal terms; and what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of those safeguards.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry is committed to ensuring the justice system is supported by a suite of high quality language service contracts, that meet the needs of all those that require them. It has a clearly defined list of qualifications, skills, experience and vetting requirements interpreters must meet, set out in each of the contracts it has with its suppliers of language services, which have been designed to meet the needs of the justice system. All interpreters are also required to complete a justice system specific training course before they are permitted to join the ministry’s interpreter register. The ministry’s contractors are required to hold evidence of these credentials, which are subject to an additional safeguard in the form of an annual audit conducted by The Language Shop (part of the London Borough of Newham), the department’s supplier of independent language service quality assurance. The Language Shop undertakes additional processes to assure the quality of interpreting provided to the ministry, including the management of its register of interpreters, conducting a programme of assessments for interpreters, and conducting an annual audit of supplier processes for onboarding new linguists. The complaint rate is monitored closely as part of a robust contract governance processes. The rate remains low which suggests there is no systemic issue with the quality of interpreting provided.

Young Offenders: Ethnic Groups

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what comparative assessment he has made of the number of young offenders of (a) BAME and (b) other ethnic groups who have been detained in youth custody in the last 8 years.

Rory Stewart: Nobody should face discrimination in the criminal justice system, or anywhere else. We have accepted the recommendations of the Lammy Review into the treatment of, and outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals in the criminal justice system and are committed to driving out discrimination wherever it exists. Supplementary table 7.18 to the Youth Justice Annual Statistics contains comparative information on the average monthly youth custody population by region and ethnicity for those in custody during each year from 2012 to 2017. It relates to young people under 18: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/676069/youth_justice_statistics_2016_to_2017_supplementary_tables.zip  The Youth Custody Service has developed an Equality Plan which outlines a set of strategic objectives that are consistent with the aims of the Lammy Review to target disproportionality in youth custody. We will be commencing delivery of those objectives in due course.

Probation: Pay

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reform the pay of probation staff.

Rory Stewart: We recognise the significant role that probation officers play within the criminal justice system, implementing the orders of the courts, rehabilitating offenders and protecting the public. Officials from HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) have held constructive and exploratory talks on pay with the National Association for Probation Officers (NAPO) (the trade union for probation officers), Unison and GMB SCOOP over pay and working conditions. However there have not been the substantive talks which can result in agreement at this stage. We are working to progress a case, consistent with the Government’s approach to public sector pay, which can be agreed with HM Treasury Ministers at the earliest opportunity.

Prisons: Repairs and Maintenance

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many outstanding (a) preventative and (b) reactive maintenance actions on the prisons estates (i) at each location and (ii) under each facilities management contract there were on 1 June 2018.

Rory Stewart: We are in the process of reviewing the data we hold in relation to maintenance action (both reactive and preventive). In particular, we are seeking to get a clearer understanding of how many of the tasks Carillion were undertaking had been completed before responsibility for facilities management transferred to Gov Facility Services Ltd in February. I will write to the Hon Member with further information once this work has been completed and will place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Youth Custody

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice of 5 June 2018, Official Report, column 166, whether his Department plans to close other secure facilities when secure schools are opened.

Rory Stewart: The Charlie Taylor review of the Youth Justice System proposed that Secure Schools are developed to replace Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) and Secure Training Centres (STCs). The government accepted the principles of Charlie’s proposal, but in doing so noted that this new concept will need to be gradually tested before any decisions are made about the wide roll-out required to achieve this long-term vision. Any decisions to decommission places in the existing secure estate will need to be considered in this context and made on a case by case basis.

Youth Custody

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice of 5 June 2018, Official Report, column 166, whether the government has a strategy to reduce the number of young people in custody; and if he will make a statement.

Rory Stewart: There are times when an offence is so serious that custody is the only option. However, we are clear that this should be a last resort and the sentence length should be appropriate and proportionate. That is why we have a range of targeted community sentences which can be tailored based on the needs of children.The government has worked to provide robust community sentences, and between 2007 to 2017 there has been a 73% drop in the number of young people sentenced to custody[1]. In 2017, 68% of all youth sentences were community sentences and only 7% were custodial sentences.We are focusing on tackling the factors that put young people at risk of offending and are working across government to ensure we respond properly to the needs of vulnerable young people before they reach the criminal justice system. The number of FTEs into the Youth Justice System has fallen by 86% over the last 10 years, and by 10% in the latest year[2].For those children that do receive a custodial sentence, it is important that custody rehabilitates them. We currently have a Youth Justice Reform Programme which aims to improve standards in custody and puts a focus on health, wellbeing and education. It also includes expanding the workforce to ensure that children are supported in custody.[1] Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2017, published 17th May 2018, Sentencing data tool.[2] Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2017, published 17th May 2018, Offending History Data Tool: Sanction statistics

Youth Custody

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice of 5 June 2018, Official Report, column 166, what his Department's timetable is for the opening of secure schools.

Rory Stewart: To ensure the successful implementation of Secure Schools, it is key that we identify and secure the right, child-focused, providers and work in partnership with them to shape the service that will be delivered. Our primary objective, therefore, is to allow sufficient time to achieve this before opening Secure Schools. We will agree the opening date with the successful applicant in due course.

Electronic Tagging

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders in the last 12 months received a tagged curfew as part of their sentence; and what proportion of those offenders successfully completed their curfew requirement.

Rory Stewart: From published figures it is not possible to determine how many offenders in the last 12 months received a tagged curfew as part of their sentence and what proportion of those offenders successfully completed their curfew requirement. To answer the second part of the question would mean matching of thousands of records, which would incur disproportionate cost. Information for 2017/18 is being processed and EM new orders and caseload will be published in the HMPPS Annual Digest for 2017/18 on 26 July 2017. This cannot be released ahead of formal publication in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Reoffenders

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion people sentenced to 12 months or less in prison reoffended within 12 months of release in each of the last five years.

Rory Stewart: This information is published as part of the Proven Reoffending Statistics and can be found on gov.uk. The latest publication can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/702786/proven-reoffending-apr16-jun16-annual.xlsx.

Oakhill Secure Training Centre

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how his Department monitors whether safeguarding concerns that have arisen at Oakhill Secure Training Centre have been referred appropriately to external statutory services.

Rory Stewart: Any concern that a child or young person at Oakhill Secure Training Centre is at risk of significant harm must be referred to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) at Milton Keynes Council. Oversight of safeguarding arrangements in the Milton Keynes area is the responsibility of the Milton Keynes Local Safeguarding Children Board. It is the responsibility of the provider to make referrals to the LADO. Youth Custody Service (YCS) staff based at Oakhill have access to all such referrals: if the provider fails to make a referral in a case where the YCS team feels this to be necessary, the team can make a direct referral to the LADO. The independent Barnardo’s advocacy service that operates at Oakhill is also able to do this. YCS staff meet regularly with Safeguarding leads at Oakhill, and also with the Milton Keynes LADO, to review any referrals in relation to children or young people at the centre.

Prisons: Standards

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what additional monitoring is conducted by his Department on prisons that have been placed in special measures; and what additional funding is allocated to such prisons that have been placed in special measures.

Rory Stewart: Progress of special measures prisons is monitored in line with the Prisons Directorate Performance and Assurance Framework, any review of progress is additionally used to determine the form of specialist support required to improve performance. Additional funding is provided for special measures prisons and is determined on a needs assessed basis.

Hunting Act 2004: Prosecutions

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions have been brought under the Hunting Act 2004 for fox hunting in each year since that Act entered force.

Lucy Frazer: The number of prosecutions for fox hunting is not centrally held by the Ministry of Justice and would be at disproportionate cost to obtain. The reason for this is because the legislation does not differentiate the hunting of foxes from ‘the hunting of mammals’ therefore the figures provided are for all prosecutions under the Hunting Act 2004. The number of defendants prosecuted under the Hunting Act 2004 in England and Wales, from 2005 to 2017, can be viewed in the attached table.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 17.27 KB)

Insurance: Fraud

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many UK citizens have been prosecuted for making false claims on holiday insurance in the last 12 months.

Lucy Frazer: It is not possible to identify from centrally held data the number of defendants prosecuted for false claims on holiday insurance or the nationality of defendants without incurring disproportionate cost.

Immigration: Appeals

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in how many immigration appeal cases the applicant had to represent themselves as a litigant in person in 2017.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 12 June 2018



The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The term “litigant in person” applies to appellants without a legal representative or a representative recognised by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner. In the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) any person may be permitted to act as a representative, including a friend, relative or litigation friend. The case management system cannot provide a breakdown between different types of representative.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, that pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2018 to Question 147795 on buildings: fire prevention, when he plans to publish information on the locations of buildings identified as unlikely to meet current building regulations guidance.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 12 June 2018



We are not publishing address details because of the risk to public safety arising from potential malicious acts.Details of every building identified as having unsafe Aluminium Composite Material cladding systems are provided to the relevant local authority and fire and rescue service and every building is visited by the local fire and rescue service to ensure appropriate safety measures are put in place.We publish the most recent testing programme figures every month in a data release. The latest figures can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-programme-monthly-data-release-may-2018.We are considering what further information it may be appropriate to release.

New Towns

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what factors he plan to take into account when receiving requests from local authorities and oversight authorities under the draft New Town Acts 1981 (Local Authority Oversight) Regulations 2018 to determine the borrowing ceiling.

Dominic Raab: We will shortly be publishing guidance to accompany the New Towns Act 1981 (Local Authority Oversight) Regulations 2018. This will provide details of the information and preparatory work the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government will expect to see from local authorities wishing to designate a new town and create a locally-led new town development corporation, including arrangements for agreeing peak borrowing requirements.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Official Cars

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2018 to Question 142818 on official cars, what the cost to the public purse of providing allocated cars to civil servants to carry out official duties was in each of the last three years.

Guto Bebb: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Defence: Brexit

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral evidence of the Permanent Secretary of HMRC of 23 May and 5 June 2018 to the Treasury Committee, whether he has seen briefing papers on the estimated figures of £17-20 billion on the costs of the maximum facilitation model; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of those estimates.

Gavin Williamson: The analysis to support the estimated £17-20 billion figure was published in a letter by the Chief Executive of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs to the Treasury Select Committee on 5 June 2018.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the hardship experienced by universal credit claimants who have their early wage payment towards the end of one month counted by HMRC as a second wage payment in a single universal credit assessment period and therefore do not receive universal credit for that period, whether changes will be made to tackle that inflexibility; and if she will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: Universal Credit seeks to take earnings into account in a way that is fair and transparent. The amount of Universal Credit paid reflects, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household each monthly assessment period, including any earnings reported by the employer during that assessment period. Monthly reporting allows Universal Credit to be adjusted on a monthly basis, which ensures that if a claimant’s income falls, they will not have to wait several months for a rise in their Universal Credit. On 7 June we also announced that we propose to re-award claimants’ transitional protection that has ceased owing to short-term increases in earnings within an assessment period, if they make a new claim to Universal Credit within three months of when they received the additional payment. The written statement can be accessed at: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-06-07/HCWS745/

Universal Credit

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of universal credit have accepted an advance payment of that benefit.

Alok Sharma: Our latest national internal data for number of advances awarded indicates that, for eligible new claims to Universal Credit Full Service that were due a first payment in January 2018, 60% received either a ‘new claim’ or ‘benefit transfer’ advance.

Support for Mortgage Interest

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to provide additional support to Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) claimants who lack capacity to apply for SMI as a loan.

Kit Malthouse: Where a claimant lacks capacity to make a decision, DWP communicates directly with the claimant’s representative to identify the appropriate person with legal capacity to make a decision for the claimant. The appropriate person is sent all relevant letters and forms, undertakes the informed discussion and signs the Loan forms where the loan is accepted. Identifying the appropriate person may take additional time so SMI benefit can be paid for an extended period until November 2018 where appropriate under transitional arrangements. In some cases where an application for financial Deputyship has been made and not yet decided this period can extend beyond November 2018.

Support for Mortgage Interest

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is provided to financial deputies for Support Mortgage Interest SMI claimants who lack the capacity to apply for SMI as a loan.

Kit Malthouse: Financial Deputies are appointed by the Court of Protection or the Office of the Public Guardian in Scotland to represent claimants who lack capacity to make decisions on SMI loans. These Financial Deputies are provided with an introductory letter and booklet on SMI loans and will have an informed discussion on the phone with Serco where any questions can be answered. Where a Financial Deputy elects to accept an SMI loan on the claimant’s behalf, they will be sent a loan agreement and charge form to sign to accept the loan.

Department for Work and Pensions: Brexit

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the oral evidence of the Permanent Secretary of HMRC of 23 May and 5 June 2018 to the Treasury Committee, whether she has seen briefing papers on the estimated figures of £17-20 billion on the costs of the maximum facilitation model; and what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of those estimates.

Alok Sharma: The analysis to support the estimated £17-20 billion figure was published in a letter by the Chief Executive of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to the Treasury Select Committee on 5 June, 2018.The Government is considering two approaches to a future customs relationship with the EU: a ‘new customs partnership’ and a ‘highly streamlined customs arrangement’. Ongoing analysis continues to support the development of both models.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Litter

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on implementing the 36 tasks in the Litter Strategy for England, published in April 2017.

David Rutley: We have made good progress in delivering the actions set out in the Litter Strategy, including bringing into force new Regulations to improve local authority enforcement powers, launching the Litter Innovation Fund, and consulting on improved guidance on enforcement. We have committed to reporting annually to Parliament on our progress with the actions set out in the Strategy: the first report is in preparation and will be published shortly.

Waste: Exports

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to review the packaging recovery note system to reduce the export of (a) plastic and (b) other waste.

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's 25 Year Environment Plan, what steps his Department is taking to include reform of the packaging recovery note system within the strategy for plastics recycling.

David Rutley: We have committed to exploring changes to the packaging producer responsibility scheme. This will look at all aspects of the regime, including mechanisms to incentivise better design, encourage the use of recycled material and make better use of materials at the end of life. More detail will be announced in the Resources and Waste Strategy, which will be published later this year.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Air Pollution

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of air pollution on the southern approach to the Dartford Crossing.

David Rutley: We model air pollution along the A282 which includes the southern approach to the Dartford Crossing. Our 2017 UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations was informed by our modelling which uses the latest available evidence, which indicates that all modelled sections of the A282 were compliant by 2017.

River Thames: Pollution

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of levels of water pollution in the River Thames.

David Rutley: The Environment Agency responds to reports of pollution via its National Incident hotline. It also proactively identifies pollution to water bodies by carrying out targeted ecological and water quality monitoring. Monitoring under the European Union Water Framework Directive involves assessing the water environment for its ecological and water quality status. The River Thames currently has a Moderate rating, an improvement on the 2009 baseline. The next round of classifications are due to be released in 2019. The Environment Agency is in the process of updating the River Basin Management Plan which will develop further measures to improve the habitat, water quality and diversity of the river. This will be delivered through partnerships with industry, land owners, community groups and Defra.

Air Pollution: Dartford

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of air pollution in Dartford.

David Rutley: We model air pollution in Dartford. Our 2017 UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations was informed by our modelling which uses the latest available evidence, which indicates that all modelled roads in Dartford are expected to be compliant with the NO2 limit value by 2018.

Food: Waste

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department's resources and waste strategy due to be published later this year is planned to include policies to achieve greater transparency on the reporting by retailers of food waste produced (a) in their operations and (b) throughout their supply chains.

David Rutley: Food waste has a financial and environmental cost and is an issue requiring urgent action. Through our work with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the UK has taken concerted action since 2007 and we are leading the way in the EU and internationally. The Courtauld Commitment 2025 is an ambitious ten-year voluntary agreement that brings together organisations across the food system to identify priorities, develop solutions and implement changes at scale, both within signatory organisations and by spreading new best practice across the UK. A core part of Courtauld 2025 is the measurement of food waste as this is vital to record progress towards meeting national and international targets. As part of Courtauld 2025 the Institute of Grocery Distribution and WRAP have worked with a wide range of business representatives to develop a set of principles on how to measure food that goes to waste. We support the actions of several retailers in measuring and publishing their food surplus and waste data and encourage other food businesses to follow their lead. The Resources and Waste Strategy will set out further policies on food waste later in the year.

Hunting

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of foxes that have been killed as part of the hunt season in the UK in the last five years (a) nationally, (b) in Lancashire, (c) in Cumbria and (d) in Cheshire.

David Rutley: No estimate has been made of the number of foxes that have been killed, as part of the hunt season in the UK, since the Hunting Act 2004 came into effect.

Fracking: Lancashire

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he and his officials have had with the Environment Agency on the adequacy of how frequently it monitors processes for groundwater at fracking sites across Lancashire.

David Rutley: Defra’s shale gas team works closely with Environment Agency colleagues on the environmental aspects of fracking, including the protection of groundwater. The environmental permit issued by the Environment Agency, such as the one issued to Cuadrilla for the Preston New Road site in Lancshire, sets out the pre-operational and operational monitoring requirements according to environmental risk. The type and period of monitoring may vary between sites, according to the sensitivity of the environment and the type and scale of activities. When a site is decommissioned, the operator continues to be held to the monitoring requirements of the environmental permit until the Environment Agency is satisfied that the site has been returned to a satisfactory condition.

Slaughterhouses: Closures

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to prevent the closure of small and medium-sized abattoirs in England.

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to encourage farmers to use local small abattoirs for slaughter; and if he will make statement.

George Eustice: The Government values the important role that small and medium sized abattoirs play in meeting the needs of specialist livestock producers, and those in the more remote areas of the country. An adequate network of abattoirs throughout England is important for supporting livestock production, and we are aware of the decline in their numbers over recent years. This is a result of consolidation in the retail sector and a drive for greater efficiency and higher meat hygiene standards in abattoirs. These are commercial considerations outside of the Government’s control. The Government is nevertheless keen that an appropriate network of abattoirs continues to support sustainable livestock production. However, we cannot influence farmers on where they choose to send their livestock for slaughter, because this is a personal choice and is dictated by ease of access and costs.

Wildlife: Smuggling

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to include online trading companies as participants in the Illegal Wildlife trade conference planned for October 2018.

David Rutley: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Bristol East, Kerry McCarthy, on 14 March 2018, PQ UIN 131446.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many additional herds registered on the computer system of the Animal and Plant Health Agency, SAM, which were previously located in the High Risk bTB Area are now located in the Edge TB Control Area as a result of the change to the TB surveillance policy adopted on 1 January 2018.

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many additional herds registered on the computer system of the Animal and Plant Health Agency, SAM, which were previously located in the High Risk Areas of Cheshire, Derbyshire, East Sussex, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire are now located in the Edge area for each of those counties as a result of the change to the TB surveillance policy adopted on 1 January 2018.

George Eustice: Our records show that the number of herds in the former bovine TB High Risk Area counties at the start of 2018 that now fall into the Edge Area are:East Sussex154Oxfordshire124Cheshire291Derbyshire1313Warwickshire241TOTAL2123This data, together with other detailed bovine TB statistics can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/tuberculosis-tb-in-cattle-in-great-britain.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Brexit

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the oral evidence of the Permanent Secretary of HMRC of 23 May and 5 June 2018 to the Treasury Committee, whether he has seen briefing papers on the estimated figures of £17-20 billion on the costs of the maximum facilitation model; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of those estimates.

George Eustice: The analysis to support the estimated £17-20 billion figure was published in a letter by the Chief Executive of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to the Treasury Select Committee on 5 June, 2018. The government is considering two approaches to a future customs relationship with the EU: a ‘new customs partnership’ and a ‘highly streamlined customs arrangement’. Ongoing analysis continues to support the development of both models. Significant analysis has been undertaken of both models, and this has been factored into policy development.

Countryside Stewardship Scheme

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on the future of the light-touch element of the Countryside Stewardship scheme.

George Eustice: In our consultation document ‘Health and Harmony’ we confirmed that we will continue to run a simplified Countryside Stewardship scheme until we introduce a new environmental land management scheme after we leave the EU. We plan to continue to offer in 2019 the four simplified farm wildlife packages that we have made available in 2018. We wish to improve the experience for applicants for Countryside Stewardship further and will confirm further steps as part of our response to the consultation.

Home Office

Football: Russia

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK police officers will be in Russia for the 2018 World Cup to provide advice, assistance and protection to UK citizens.

Mr Nick Hurd: A UK policing delegation will travel to Russia, at the host country’s request, to provide assistance to host police. The size of the UK policing delegation has been specified by the Russian authorities. We do not disclose the number for operational reasons.

Slavery

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to identify companies that are required to make declarations in relation to their supply chains under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Victoria Atkins: Under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, commercial organisations that carry on a business in the UK and have an annual turnover of £36 million or more, are required to publish a slavery and human trafficking statement.There are a number of practical difficulties in using the data Government currently holds to identify businesses in scope, for example, although Companies House is working to make their data more readily accessible it is not currently possible to filter their database by turnover size. Therefore we are planning to obtain a list of organisations that are subject to this legislation from a range of non-governmental sources.

Drugs: Crime

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the recommendations contained in the report, Desperate for a Fix: Using shop theft and a Second Chance Programme to get tough on the causes of prolific drug-addicted offending published by the Centre for Social Justice on 6 June 2018.

Victoria Atkins: Drugs can devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities. This Government’s approach to them remains clear - we must prevent drug use in our communities and support people through treatment and recovery. Our Drug Strategy, published in July 2017, sets out a balanced approach which brings together police, health, community and global partners to tackle the illicit drug trade, protect the most vulnerable and help those with a drug dependency to recover and turn their lives around. We will consider the recommendations contained in the report, Desperate for a Fix: Using shop theft and a Second Chance Programme to get tough on the causes of prolific drug-addicted offending, as part of our ongoing work programme.

Visas: Russia

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the visa status is of (a) Oleg Deripaska, (b) Roman Abramovich, (c) Alisher Usmanov and (d) Viktor Vekselberg; and if he will make  a statement.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases. All visa applications are considered on their merits and in line with the Immigration Rules.

Migrant Workers: Restaurants

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has undertaken an impact assessment on or analysis of the effect of the Tier 2 Visa minimum salary threshold on the restaurant industry in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland.

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect on the economy of potential restaurant closures as result of the Tier 2 visa minimum salary threshold.

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of lowering the Tier 2 Visa minimum salary threshold for the restaurant industry; and if he will make a statement.

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of the restaurant industry to discuss the effect of the Tier 2 Visa minimum salary thresholds on the ability to recruit highly-skilled chefs.

Caroline Nokes: Tier 2 (General) supports non-EEA high skilled workers taking up employment with UK based employers. In order to define what constitutes a skilled chef, the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) and the Home Office developed criteria designed to identify the top 5% to 8% of chefs. Only chefs who meet these criteria are able to qualify under Tier 2 (General). Part of the qualifying criteria is that the job must pay a minimum salary of £29,570. This figure was derived from the minimum salary to be paid for an RQF 4 level occupation, the skill level for Tier 2 at the time the requirements were introduced. Tier 2 is now reserved for degree-level occupations.The MAC has consulted widely with the restaurant industry on a number of occasions and they have concluded that the current criteria adequately identify the very best chefs whilst providing measures for preventing abuse of the system.We do not agree that the immigration system is either the cause of, or the solution to, the challenges faced by the restaurant industry. Historically, there has always been a high turnover of restaurants, which is the result of many factors, including changing public tastes. As the MAC has noted, when one restaurant closes, often another one will open in its place, offering either similar or a different type of cuisine.Immigration is a reserved matter. The Government considers the needs of the UK as a whole and is committed to developing an immigration system that serves the national interest.

Members: Correspondence

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to respond to the letter of 18 May 2018 from the hon. Member for Lewisham Deptford in respect of a Windrush case enquiry on behalf of a constituent.

Caroline Nokes: The letter dated 18 May 2018, with the reference ZA9375, was received on 25 May 2018 as a follow up to an earlier letter sent by the hon. Member to the Prime Minister on 18 April 2018. A reply was sent on 7 June 2018.

Members: Correspondence

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to respond to the letter of 9 May 2018 from the hon. Member for Lewisham Deptford on concerns as to how Windrush cases are being dealt with by his Department.

Caroline Nokes: The hon. Member’s letter dated 9 May 2018, with the reference ZA18847, was received on 18 May. A reply was sent on 7 June 2018.

Immigration

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason rectifying a tax return error constitutes sufficient grounds for his Department to refuse indefinite leave to remain under paragraph 322(5) of the Immigration Rules.

Caroline Nokes: It is not the Government’s policy to refuse applications due to rectification of tax return errors.We have refused applications where there are substantial differences – often tens of thousands of pounds – between the earnings used to claim points in an immigration application and an applicant’s HMRC records, without a credible explanation from the applicant. We take all available evidence into account before making a decision. Paragraph 322(5) is used where the evidence shows that an applicant’s character and conduct is such that their application should be refused. Any such case is signed off by a manager before refusal grounds are applied.As I advised the Home Affairs Select Committee on 8 May, we are carrying out a review of these cases to see how many showed clear evidence of deceit, and whether any were minor errors.

Crimes of Violence

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of resources available to police forces to tackle violent crime.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Minister for Policing and the Fire Service engaged with every police force in England and Wales to better understand the changing demands on policing, and how these can best be managed. We recognised that the police are seeing increased demands as more complex crime is being reported, including previously hidden crimes such as Child Sexual Exploitation and modern slavery, and from the terrorist threat.We are helping the police to respond to changing demand with a £460m increase in overall funding in 2018/19, including increased funding for local policing through Council Tax precept.

Immigration Controls

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been refused entry into the UK in each of the last three years; and if he will group that data by grounds for refusal.

Caroline Nokes: The information of those refused entry into the UK can be found on the Gov.uk website and a link is provided below.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2018/how-many-people-are-detained-or-returned

Migrant Workers: Shipping

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2017 to Question 2290, what steps he has taken to support the employment of non-EEA crew on construction and maintenance vessels in the offshore wind sector since June 2017.

Caroline Nokes: A concession, which operates outside of the Immigration Rules, has been introduced, and extended until 21 April 2019, for the purpose of facilitating the employment of non-EEA workers employed on vessels engaged in the construction of wind farms located in UK territorial waters. This remains a temporary arrangement which is in place to afford the industry opportunity to take steps to regularise its arrangements for such crew.

Visas

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of his contingency arrangements for tackling the situation in which former Tier 1 visa holders successfully apply for the passport of another nation to circumvent UK visa restrictions; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: All non-EEA nationals coming to the UK are assessed against the Immigration Rules and an individual’s immigration history is considered as part of this assessment.Those coming to the UK for longer than 6 months (which includes Tier 1), or for a purpose other than a visit, are required to apply for entry clearance and provide their biometric details (face and fingerprints) as part of the application process.We carry out 100% checks on passengers arriving on scheduled services at the border in order to identify any criminal, security and immigration concerns. and, whilst EEA nationals have a right of admission, this right is not absolute and in certain cases admission can be refused or the individual can be excluded.

Migration Advisory Committee

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he next plans to commission the Migration Advisory Committee to perform a full review of the shortage occupation list.

Caroline Nokes: The Shortage Occupation List is kept under regular review.The Migration Advisory Committee is currently undertaking two major commissions. Its commission on the impacts on the UK labour market of the UK’s exit from the European Union and how our immigration system should be aligned with a modern industrial strategy includes consideration of the Shortage Occupation List.The Committee is due to report on this, and on its other commission on international students, in September.

Fire and Rescue Services and Police: West Midlands

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will consult with people in the West Midlands before making any decision to bring police and fire services under the control of the Mayor for the West Midlands Combined Authority.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government are determined to honour the second devolution deal with the West Midlands, including proposals to bring police and fire services under the Mayor, as we have done in London and Manchester. It is right that local leaders take decisions on how they wish to obtain local views on these changes.

Immigrants: Detainees

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2018 to Question 138367, whether the information requested relating to the proportion of released detainees who were subsequently detained has been published; and in what format that information is held.

Caroline Nokes: The information requested has not been published.The Home Office does not hold the information requested with regards to the proportion of released detainees who were subsequently detained within (i) one month of their release and (ii) six months of their release, in a reportable format. The information requested could only be supplied at disproportionate cost.

Drugs: Crime

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been (a) charged, (b) prosecuted and (c) convicted for a suspected (i) drug trafficking or (ii) drug supply offence in each of the last three years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The latest available data are published in the Police recorded crime open data tables, available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tablesThe Home Office does not hold information on the number of people that have been prosecuted and convicted. This information should be requested from the Ministry of Justice.

Offensive Weapons: Railways

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents there were involving an offensive weapon (a) on trains and (b) at rail stations in each region in each of the last three years.

Mr Nick Hurd: Offences involving a knife or a sharp instrument and possession of a weapon, on trains and within stations grounds are recorded by the British Transport Police. The Home Office collects this data, but it is not possible to tell from this information whether the offence occurred on a train or a rail station or what region the offence occurred.Data on offences involving firearms are not collected centrally by the Home Office for British Transport Police.Data for British Transport Police can be found in published open data tables available here:Offences involving knives or sharp instruments up to December 2017: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/706368/prc-knife-open-data-march2009-onwards-tables.odsPossession of a weapon up to December 2017:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/701926/prc-pfa-mar2013-onwards-tables.ods

Hamas

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans his Department has to list Hamas as a proscribed terrorist organisation; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Ben Wallace: I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Chipping Barnet on 22 May 2018, UIN 145293.

Home Office: Brexit

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral evidence of the Permanent Secretary of HMRC of 23 May and 5 June 2018 to the Treasury Committee, whether he has seen briefing papers on the estimated figures of £17-20 billion on the costs of the maximum facilitation model; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of those estimates.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Secretary is aware of these figures and his department is closely involved in the cross-government development of future customs models, including their operational requirements.The Home Office is working closely with other Government Departments on the detailed logistical and operational planning for managing all the impacts of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, on and at the border. Cross-government preparations for EU exit at the border are being coordinated by the Border Delivery Group.

Cabinet Office

Councillors: EU Nationals

Hilary Benn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether EU citizens living in the UK will be able to stand for election as councillors after (a) March 2019 and (b) December 2020.

Hilary Benn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his policy is on EU nationals being able to stand as candidates in local government elections after the end of March 2019.

Chloe Smith: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to the Member for Cambridge to PQ129820 on 28 March 2018.

Councillors: EU Nationals

Tom Brake: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on whether non-UK EU citizens who are serving as councillors will be able to continue to serve as councillors (a) during any transitional phase and (b) after the UK leaves the EU.

Chloe Smith: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to the Member for Cambridge to PQ129820 on 28 March 2018.

Local Government: Elections

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether it is the Government's policy that EU Citizens currently living in the UK will have the right to (a) stand in and (b) vote in local elections after 29 March 2019.

Chloe Smith: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to the Member for Cambridge to PQ129820 on 28 March 2018.

Blood: Contamination

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the contaminated blood inquiry has submitted its recommendations to his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: Sir Brian Langstaff, the Chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry, wrote to me on 7 June with his recommendations for the Inquiry’s terms of reference. I will announce the terms of reference as soon as possible, following consultation with the Devolved Administrations.

Knives: Crime

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people died as a result of knife crime in 2017.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response 
(PDF Document, 66.44 KB)

Treasury

Revenue and Customs: Dundee

Chris Law: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Financial Secretary to the Treasury of 7 March 2018, Official Report, column 428, what proportion of HMRC staff based in Sidlaw House, Dundee, his Department estimates will be able to (a) transfer to an HMRC Regional Centre or (b) complete their career in that location.

Mel Stride: HMRC modelling suggests that 22% of those currently located in Sidlaw House are within Reasonable Daily Travel of the new Regional Centre. HMRC modelling has focused on employee transfer rather than identifying those who will see out their career in Sidlaw House. HMRC wants to retain the skills, knowledge and experience of all the people affected and, where possible, it we will do everything it can to avoid exits or redundancies. HMRC will continue to offer practical support for people who want to remain in the Civil Service, as well as for those who may choose to leave. HMRC have agreed with the Scottish Government that it will work closely on known recruitment plans that they have in Dundee. This will ramp up over the next few years and HMRC will work together to help HMRC employees in Dundee to secure roles with the Scottish Government.

Self-employed: Tax Avoidance

Julian Sturdy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations his Department has received from people and organisations affected by off-payroll working rules and changes to IR35 regulations on those rules and changes; and what proportion of those representations have been critical of the IR35 changes.

Julian Sturdy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consultation mechanisms his Department uses to help assess the effect of (a) changes to IR35 regulations and (b)  regulatory changes; and assessment he has made of the adequacy of those mechanisms.

Mel Stride: The government has consulted widely on off-payroll working rules (known as IR35), since the Summer Budget 2015. In July 2015, the government published the ‘Intermediaries Legislation (IR35): discussion document’, which sought views on the existing rules and options for change. After Budget 2016, the government published the consultation document, ‘Off-payroll working in the public sector: reform of the intermediaries legislation’. HMRC met with over 500 people from a wide range of organisations to discuss the proposed changes, and received over 200 written responses to the consultation. Following the introduction of the new rules in April 2017, the government commissioned independent research into the impact of the changes. This was published on 18 May 2018 and is available to view online: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/off-payroll-reform-in-the-public-sector The government’s assessment is that the reform has been successful in increasing tax compliance for off-payroll workers in the public sector. The government is now consulting on possible reform to the off-payroll working rules in the private sector. As part of that consultation, HMRC is planning to meet over 200 people, including representatives of a wide range of affected stakeholders.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason a 10 pence discount on the market closing price was offered to institutional investors purchasing RBS shares from UK Government Investments on 4 June 2018.

John Glen: The Government’s shareholding in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is managed at arm's length and on a commercial basis through UK Government Investments Ltd (UKGI), a company which is wholly owned by the Government, with the objective of creating and protecting value for the taxpayer. On 5 June 2018 the Government concluded a second sale of its shareholding in RBS, restarting the phased return of the bank to full private ownership. The Government sold approximately 7.7% of the bank (925m shares) through an overnight accelerated bookbuild (ABB) process, raising just over £2.5bn for the taxpayer (at a price of 271p per share). This reduced the government shareholding to 62.4% (from 70.1% pre-sale). UKGI advised that an ABB would be the most appropriate method for restarting the RBS sale programme. It is usual market practice for ABB sales to price at a small discount to the closing market price. This is necessary to enable the sale of a large number of shares in a single transaction, with recent discounts on large ABBs ranging between 2% and 6%. The Government takes account of this discount when considering the value for money of a transaction, given it is a usual feature in such large transactions.

Rosneft

Ian Austin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the listing of shares in the Russian state-owned energy company Rosneft on the London Stock Exchange in light of provisions in the new Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act.

John Glen: Council Regulation (EU) 833/2014 implements measures aimed at limiting investment in 11 Russian entities with a view to increasing the costs of Russia's actions to undermine Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence. Rosneft is captured by this Regulation, but this does not stop the London Stock Exchange allowing them to be listed. As we will be bound by EU sanctions until we leave the EU, if Rosneft can be listed on the London Stock Exchange according to the EU Council Regulation, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is under no obligation to stop them from being listed. Until the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act is commenced, we will continue to impose sanctions in alignment with EU partners. The UK complies with EU sanctions, which include economic restrictions on Rosneft under the Economic Sanctions linked to the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements.

Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

Karin Smyth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the number of individuals who have an outstanding Tax Credit overpayment debt.

Elizabeth Truss: The information is only available at disproportionate cost.

Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

Karin Smyth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have debt from tax credit over-payments which is not being recovered by HMRC.

Elizabeth Truss: The information is only available at disproportionate cost.

Children: Day Care

Tulip Siddiq: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to issue its response to the Treasury Committee's report on Childcare, HC757, published on 25 March 2018.

Elizabeth Truss: The Treasury issued its response to the Treasury Committee’s report on Childcare on the 24th May.

Public Sector Debt: Interest Rates

Alison McGovern: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the assumptions are of his Department, the Office for Budget Responsibility and the Bank of England on the interest rates to be paid on the stock of national debt, in terms of debt repayment and total debt, in each year through to (a) 2021-22 and then to (b) 2031-32; and to what extent those assumptions on interest rates differ from otherwise having an effective interest rate of 2.83 per cent in terms of debt interest payment costs.

Elizabeth Truss: The information requested is provided in the attached document.



PQ151423attachment
(Word Document, 19.23 KB)

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Theatre: Young People

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding his Department has allocated from the public purse to youth theatre projects in each of the last three years.

Michael Ellis: Culture is a devolved competence, therefore policy and funding decisions are the responsibility of the respective devolved nations and their arts funding bodies. Arts Council England (ACE) are responsible for distributing funding to arts and culture organisations on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in England. Funding that is specifically directed to 'Youth Theatre' is not recorded; however, ACE funding statistics do highlight funded organisations that include 'youth theatre' as part of their provision under their funding contract. Investment in each of the last three years, where the ACE award has been at least partially classified with ‘Youth Theatre’ is outlined in the table below.

Football: Safety

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations his Department has (a) made to and (b) received from professional football clubs in (i) England, (ii) Wales and (iii) Scotland on the potential introduction of safe-standing at sports stadiums.

Tracey Crouch: Representations have been received from the following football clubs about the possible introduction of certain types of accommodation which could facilitate standing at parts of their respective grounds: Bristol City, Peterborough United, Grimsby Town, Shrewsbury Town and West Bromwich Albion. Representations about the all-seater policy have also been received from Southampton City Council. I also met Andrew R T Davies, Leader of the Conservative Party at the Welsh Assembly in 2015 to discuss standing at football in Wales. Standing at football matches in Scotland is a matter for the relevant Scottish authorities.

Cultural Heritage: Aircraft

Sir Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support is available to heritage aviation organisations to develop and promote STEM skills.

Michael Ellis: We recognise the importance of increasing the uptake of STEM skills across all engineering sectors, including heritage aviation. The Year of Engineering 2018 encourages aviation partners to engage young people with the sector, such as the Royal Aeronautical Society’s ‘Cool Aeronautics’ programme.Through its grant-making, the Heritage Lottery Fund supports the development of new skills to look after and share our rich aviation heritage and collections. Their approach encourages applicants to consider incorporating apprenticeships, volunteer training and the creation of learning resources to develop the STEM skills needed to conserve and digitally interpret over 100 years of aviation history. This has resulted in a number of HLF-funded aviation projects supporting STEM skills, including the development of an Aviation Heritage Skills course at Brooklands Museum.

Gambling: Advertising

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a 9pm watershed for all gambling advertising.

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect on young peoples' gambling behaviour of the advertising of gambling during live sporting events.

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the advertising of  betting on pitch-side electronic advertising boards during televised sporting events.

Tracey Crouch: We considered advertising as part of our Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility. The response was published on 17 May. Protecting vulnerable people was central to the review, and we recognised that having the right advertising protections in place was an important part of this. As set out in the consultation document, children’s exposure to gambling adverts on TV has been declining year on year since 2013. The Gambling Commission’s Young People Survey in 2017 found that there was little evidence of a direct influence on gambling activity, with only 1% of young people in the survey saying advertising prompted them to start gambling or increase the amount they gamble. However, our response recognises that there are gaps in the evidence available, and outlined measures to fill these, including significant research commissioned by GambleAware into the impact of gambling advertising on children, young people and those vulnerable to harm. There are already strong controls in place around gambling advertising, which must not be targeted at children. The response set out a package of initiatives to strengthen protections further. These include forthcoming guidance from the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) on protecting children and young people. We do not propose to bring forward legislative proposals, but we will keep these issues under review.